An Introduction to Literary Studies - Mario Klarer
§1 What is literature? What is a text?
The term literature has been proved to be difficult to define. In most cases, literature is referred to
as the entirety of written expression, with the restriction that not every written document can be
categorised as literature in the more exact sense of the word. Eg, newspapers, telephone books.
Etymologically, the Latin word litteratura derives from littera (letter). The word text is related to
textile and translates as “fabric”, in the way that threads together form a fabric. The same way in
which letters form a text together.
This is not very helpful, it is more enlightening to look at literature or text as cultural and historical
phenomena and to investigate the conditions of their production and reception. Underlying literary
production is the human desire to leave behind a trace which will stay behind forever. The earliest
forms of a creative outing are prehistoric cave paintings.
Not only the visual - writing is always pictorial - but also the acoustic element, the spoken word, is
an integral part of literature. Before writing developed, texts were passed on orally. This
predecessor of literary expression, called oral poetry, consisted of texts stored in a bard/
minstrel’s memory from which the singers could recite upon demand.
The visual aspect of literary texts, as well as the oral dimension, has been pushed into the
background in the course of history. While the Middle Ages highly celebrated the visual aspect of
text (decorated manuscripts etc.), the arrival of the modern age made the visual aspect disappear
or reduced it to a few illustrations in the text. “Pure” writing became more and more standard and
modern iconoclasm (= hostility towards pictures) became popular.
Drama, which we read as one of the major representatives of literature, combines acoustic and
visual elements in more than any other literary genre. Even more obviously than in drama, the
symbiosis of word and image culminates in film. A relatively recent phenomenon, which also
amalgamates the verbal and the visual, is the graphic novel.
Although the written medium is clearly the main concern in the study of literature or texts, this
field of inquiry has opened up to other areas of media, such as the stage, painting, film, music, or
the Internet.
The permeation of modern textual studies with other media has recently resulted in controversies
over the definition of “text”. On the one hand, visual and acoustic elements are being reintroduced
into literature; on the other hand, literature mixes with with other media, genres, text types and
discourses.
Genre, text type, and discourse
Literary criticism, resorts to the concept of evolution or development and to criteria of
classification to distinguish various genres. The term genre usually refers to one of the three
classical literary forms of epic, poetry or drama.
Besides the genres that define or demarcate the general areas of traditional literature, the term
text type has gained wide currency under the influence of linguistics. This refers to highly
conventional written documents, such as instruction manuals, obituaries, advertising texts,
catalogues or scientific/scholarly writing. It can, of course, also include the three main literary
genres and their sub-genres.
A further key term in theoretical treatises on literary phenomena is discourse. Like text type, it is
used as a term for any kind of classifiable linguistic expression. The classification for these forms
of linguistic expression are based on levels of content, vocabulary, and syntax, as well as stylistic
and rhetorical elements. Whereas the term text type refers to written documents, discourse
includes written and oral expressions. The boundaries of these terms are not fixed and vary
depending on the context in which they appear.
For example, feminist discourse, is the way in which feminists talk and what language they use.
, Primary and secondary sources
Whether analysing a traditional genre, or an unconventional text type or discourse, literary studies
distinguishes between the artistic object (primary source) and its scholarly treatment in a critical
way (secondary source).
Primary sources denote the traditional objects of analysis in literary criticism, including texts
from all literary genres (eg. poetry, drama, fiction).
The term secondary source applies to texts such as articles, book reviews and notes, all of which
are published primarily in scholarly journals.
In terms of content, secondary literature tries to uphold those standards of scholarly practice that
have, over time, been established for scientific
discourse. It is vital for any reader to be able to check
and follow the arguments, results, and statements of
literary criticism. Since the interpretation of texts always
contains subjective traits, secondary sources can only
apply to a number of statements.
As far as documentation of courses is concerned,
however, the requirements in literary criticism are as
strict as those of the natural sciences. The reader of a
secondary source should be able to retrace every
quotation or paraphrase to the primary or secondary
source from which it has been taken.
As a consequence of these conventions in
documentation, a number of formal criteria have
evolved in literary criticism. Literary studies use the term
critical apparatus to refer to the list of sources of a
scholarly paper or monograph, including: footnotes/endnotes, a bibliography and an index.
In most cases, it is easy to distinguish between primary- and secondary literature. However, every
literary period produces works that, for various reasons, attempt to blur the boundaries between
them:
• 1339, Giovanni Boccaccio added glosses (footnote like) to his Italian epic
• 1922, T.S. Elliot included footnotes in the primary text
• 1962, Vladimir Nabokov deliberately confused readers by mixing up primary and secondary text
§2 Major genres in literary studies
Fiction
Although the novel emerged as the most important form of prose fiction in the modern period, its
precursors go back to the oldest texts of literary fiction. The traditional epic revolves around a
hero who has to fulfil a number of tasks of national or cosmic significance in a multiplicity of
episodes.
Although traditional epics are written in verse, they clearly distinguish themselves from other
forms of poetry by their length, narrative structure, depiction of characters, and plot patterns.
Because of these features, the epic functions as a precursor of the modern novel.
While the scope of the traditional epic is usually broad, the romance condenses the action and
directs the plot toward one particular goal. At the same time, the protagonist is depicted in more
detail and with greater care, for example insecurity or weakness. The heroes of the classical epic,
are usually flat characters who are an embodiment of heroic ideals.
The individualisation of the protagonist, the perspectival narrative situation, and the linear plot
structure, directed toward a specific climax that no longer centres on national or cosmic
problems, are among the crucial features that distinguish the romance from epic poetry.
The novel focusses on character development more than plot. The terms realism and
individualism characterise the newly established novel, thereby summarising some of the basic
innovations of this new medium. While the traditional epic exhibited a cosmic and allegorical
dimension, the modern novel distinguishes itself by grounding the plot.
§1 What is literature? What is a text?
The term literature has been proved to be difficult to define. In most cases, literature is referred to
as the entirety of written expression, with the restriction that not every written document can be
categorised as literature in the more exact sense of the word. Eg, newspapers, telephone books.
Etymologically, the Latin word litteratura derives from littera (letter). The word text is related to
textile and translates as “fabric”, in the way that threads together form a fabric. The same way in
which letters form a text together.
This is not very helpful, it is more enlightening to look at literature or text as cultural and historical
phenomena and to investigate the conditions of their production and reception. Underlying literary
production is the human desire to leave behind a trace which will stay behind forever. The earliest
forms of a creative outing are prehistoric cave paintings.
Not only the visual - writing is always pictorial - but also the acoustic element, the spoken word, is
an integral part of literature. Before writing developed, texts were passed on orally. This
predecessor of literary expression, called oral poetry, consisted of texts stored in a bard/
minstrel’s memory from which the singers could recite upon demand.
The visual aspect of literary texts, as well as the oral dimension, has been pushed into the
background in the course of history. While the Middle Ages highly celebrated the visual aspect of
text (decorated manuscripts etc.), the arrival of the modern age made the visual aspect disappear
or reduced it to a few illustrations in the text. “Pure” writing became more and more standard and
modern iconoclasm (= hostility towards pictures) became popular.
Drama, which we read as one of the major representatives of literature, combines acoustic and
visual elements in more than any other literary genre. Even more obviously than in drama, the
symbiosis of word and image culminates in film. A relatively recent phenomenon, which also
amalgamates the verbal and the visual, is the graphic novel.
Although the written medium is clearly the main concern in the study of literature or texts, this
field of inquiry has opened up to other areas of media, such as the stage, painting, film, music, or
the Internet.
The permeation of modern textual studies with other media has recently resulted in controversies
over the definition of “text”. On the one hand, visual and acoustic elements are being reintroduced
into literature; on the other hand, literature mixes with with other media, genres, text types and
discourses.
Genre, text type, and discourse
Literary criticism, resorts to the concept of evolution or development and to criteria of
classification to distinguish various genres. The term genre usually refers to one of the three
classical literary forms of epic, poetry or drama.
Besides the genres that define or demarcate the general areas of traditional literature, the term
text type has gained wide currency under the influence of linguistics. This refers to highly
conventional written documents, such as instruction manuals, obituaries, advertising texts,
catalogues or scientific/scholarly writing. It can, of course, also include the three main literary
genres and their sub-genres.
A further key term in theoretical treatises on literary phenomena is discourse. Like text type, it is
used as a term for any kind of classifiable linguistic expression. The classification for these forms
of linguistic expression are based on levels of content, vocabulary, and syntax, as well as stylistic
and rhetorical elements. Whereas the term text type refers to written documents, discourse
includes written and oral expressions. The boundaries of these terms are not fixed and vary
depending on the context in which they appear.
For example, feminist discourse, is the way in which feminists talk and what language they use.
, Primary and secondary sources
Whether analysing a traditional genre, or an unconventional text type or discourse, literary studies
distinguishes between the artistic object (primary source) and its scholarly treatment in a critical
way (secondary source).
Primary sources denote the traditional objects of analysis in literary criticism, including texts
from all literary genres (eg. poetry, drama, fiction).
The term secondary source applies to texts such as articles, book reviews and notes, all of which
are published primarily in scholarly journals.
In terms of content, secondary literature tries to uphold those standards of scholarly practice that
have, over time, been established for scientific
discourse. It is vital for any reader to be able to check
and follow the arguments, results, and statements of
literary criticism. Since the interpretation of texts always
contains subjective traits, secondary sources can only
apply to a number of statements.
As far as documentation of courses is concerned,
however, the requirements in literary criticism are as
strict as those of the natural sciences. The reader of a
secondary source should be able to retrace every
quotation or paraphrase to the primary or secondary
source from which it has been taken.
As a consequence of these conventions in
documentation, a number of formal criteria have
evolved in literary criticism. Literary studies use the term
critical apparatus to refer to the list of sources of a
scholarly paper or monograph, including: footnotes/endnotes, a bibliography and an index.
In most cases, it is easy to distinguish between primary- and secondary literature. However, every
literary period produces works that, for various reasons, attempt to blur the boundaries between
them:
• 1339, Giovanni Boccaccio added glosses (footnote like) to his Italian epic
• 1922, T.S. Elliot included footnotes in the primary text
• 1962, Vladimir Nabokov deliberately confused readers by mixing up primary and secondary text
§2 Major genres in literary studies
Fiction
Although the novel emerged as the most important form of prose fiction in the modern period, its
precursors go back to the oldest texts of literary fiction. The traditional epic revolves around a
hero who has to fulfil a number of tasks of national or cosmic significance in a multiplicity of
episodes.
Although traditional epics are written in verse, they clearly distinguish themselves from other
forms of poetry by their length, narrative structure, depiction of characters, and plot patterns.
Because of these features, the epic functions as a precursor of the modern novel.
While the scope of the traditional epic is usually broad, the romance condenses the action and
directs the plot toward one particular goal. At the same time, the protagonist is depicted in more
detail and with greater care, for example insecurity or weakness. The heroes of the classical epic,
are usually flat characters who are an embodiment of heroic ideals.
The individualisation of the protagonist, the perspectival narrative situation, and the linear plot
structure, directed toward a specific climax that no longer centres on national or cosmic
problems, are among the crucial features that distinguish the romance from epic poetry.
The novel focusses on character development more than plot. The terms realism and
individualism characterise the newly established novel, thereby summarising some of the basic
innovations of this new medium. While the traditional epic exhibited a cosmic and allegorical
dimension, the modern novel distinguishes itself by grounding the plot.
