Great Literature - What Makes it so Great?

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Great Literature - What Makes it so Great?

What is "great" literature? What makes it so great? Who decides it is great? And, most importantly, why should people read it? The answers to these four questions tell their own story, the story of the grandest works ever written.

Great literature is what has stood the test of time. This time frame can be as long as many thousands of years, and as short as twenty. What is important is that the piece of literature has been thoroughly analyzed and scrutinized, studied and talked about, criticized and scoffed at--and still survives. From the essay "What is a Classic?" from Aerie Books Ltd. an excerpt reads, "They've set aside that word [classic] solely for books that have passed the test of time, that really are among the best works of their kind ever written" (Aerie Books Ltd. 295). Time is the most important factor contributing to a book's greatness.

What makes great literature "great" is the feelings, emotions, and philosophical reflection that the reader experiences, long after having read the piece....

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