The Joys of Studying Literature
One of the main joys of studying English is what could be called its liberating ambiguity. With Science or, to a greater extent, Mathematics, there is often only one ‘right’ answer, and all else is wrong. Even where there may be some scope for divergence, that scope is often minute; the answer must be correct to a specific number of decimal places and/or certain range of digits. English, however, is an almost boundless field of possibilities in which one may argue as one pleases, so long as one is able to back up that argument. Even if the argument is somewhat radical or unexpected, it can be argued, and indeed read, with as much reverence as a more standard or typical answer if the evidence to support the claims is there.
This ambiguity is what gives a real sense of freedom to studying, in particular, literature, but also extends of course to more language-oriented aspects in certain cases. For, although one is unlikely to contest the purpose of a particular grammatical function, one may discuss how the use of that particular function, or indeed the lack of it, can highlight deeper issues within a text.
Thus it is possible to construct an argument based simply on the lack of, for example, a certain function or word. To be able to argue about what is effectively not there indicates that the world of criticism is one of much opportunity and open possibility. One could not, for example, write an essay so easily on the lack of river names on a map or of the implications of not writing out an equation in full.
Another aspect of studying English which makes it so enjoyable is that one is able to use this licence of ambiguity with a range, and indeed a choice, of texts. As well as studying the numerous prescribed texts, one is able to make reference to one’s broad reading experience, or even, in certain cases, base an essay or argument upon a favourite text. It is also possible
ABSTRACT: In what follows, I give (following Burton Dreben) a dialectical reading of his dismissal of metaphysics and of Wittgenstein's objections to Russell in 1913. I argue that Wittgenstein must be read as advocating no particular theory or doctrine — that is, philosophy is an activity and not a body of truths. Furthermore, this insistence is thoroughgoing. Put differently, a dialectical reading must be applied to one's own thought and talk. Characteristically, this sort of dialectical philosophy begins with the question, Is there any definiteness to what I am doing in my own thinking and speaking? Such a question undercuts the easy assumption that what we are doing may be expressed in a body of meaningful statements. In particular, I argue that Wittgenstein does not advocate any particular theory of language. A common reading of Wittgenstein is that he aims to prevent us from misusing language. This view assumes that, for Wittgenstein, the notion of a correct, acceptable or meaningful use of language may be taken for granted. In my view, Wittgenstein does not take the notions of use of language and grammar and its misuse for granted. For Wittgenstein grammar underdetermines what it is to use or misuse language. I argue that an ethical critique is implicit in Wittgenstein's objections to any attempt to speak a priori about language and thought.
What is the national debt? National debt is how much money the nation owes to states, foreign countries, and any other “creditors who hold US debt instruments” (National Debt vs. National Deficit). The national debt is different from the national deficit, or budget deficit, which is the difference between the amount of money the United States makes and how much it spends on a yearly basis. The budget deficit makes up a significant portion of the national debt .
According to Jerome J. McGann “for every work of art is the product of an interaction between the artist, on the one hand, and a variety of social determinants on the other, even the simplest textual problem establishing a work’s linguistic correctness-can involve other problems that are quite literally, insoluble”. ((Rice Philip&Waugh Patrcia, Modern Literature Theory, Bloomsbury Academic, (ed) 2011, p 294).
In English literature, the regular syntax of the language is often changed to produce a different
The themes of the two poems are portrayed in very distinctive ways. ‘The Charge of the Light Brigade’ explains in a majestic approach, that fighting in war is something every soldier should honour. The poem is also about the loyalty of the soldiers, not the bad luck or foolishness of men. Tennyson presents this in his poem to show the bravery of the soldiers, although, he only highlights on the benefits of war.
Poststructuralists aggressively declares that we cannot trust linguistic systems to convey truth, the foundations of reality are unpredictable and the world of literacy as we know it begins to unravel...
When we interpret a text, we bring our own hopes, fears, joys and beliefs to the forefront, despite our claims of intellectual objectivity, and what is at stake is not just an evaluation of the work itself, but often an evaluation of our political, social, psychological and emotional identities. What we see or read into a text can become a kind of experiment, a literary depiction of the way we see, or would like to see, and interpret ourselves and our world. Often, in the course of interpreting, we feel compelled to name and label both writer and text in order to talk about them in ways that make sense to us, and in order to pinpoint them in relation to ourselves. When we label anything, we attempt to control or own it; we assign values or a set of rules to that person or object. What is lost in that process...
One area in which the possibility of the existence of more than one meaning or interpretation creates tension is literature. "Intention, text, context, reader – what determines meaning? Now the very fact that arguments are made for all four factors shows that meaning is complex and elusive, not something once and f...
It may be time to consider a literary work not as a predetermined product cast in a deterministic mold, but as a dynamic system that transcends the prevailing assumptions that are supposed to define its identity. The formal definitions can be just external to the composition of the text since we cannot expect the reader to know exactly what the author intended to write without falling into the trap of intentional fallacy.
Throughout my life, reading and writing were a positive thing because of the support from the people around. I was never really the confident or extroverted type of person back in the day. This then caused me to be anxious when I read or be doubtful of what I wrote. I can still remember breaking balls of sweats and tensing up whenever I had to read something aloud in elementary. It was a pretty big social problem for me but I can also recall many times where I was laughing and having fun while doing something with reading or writing with my mother. Although there have been many things that affected me so far in my literary journey, my mother has been the most supportive and impactful person to me by reading short stories, going to the library, and giving me writing prompts. One of the activities I liked to do before I fell asleep was to read.
To what extent can literature have an affect on the way we judge society? Humans are naturally able to make a first impression on countries, religions, and people based upon their own beliefs. Writers are grown up in different societies and express their own beliefs on countries, religion and people through their own life experiences. Writers have enough power to change the reader’s preconceived ideas by the writers sharing of their own perspective on their beliefs. Through analyzing different forms of literature such as White Tiger by Aravind Adiga, Joseph Brodsky’s “A commencement Address,” and watching Chimamanda Adichie’s “The Danger of a Single Story” I have realized that reading literature has the ability to change our thinking which in return affects the we judge different society. There have been controversies that media is a huge factor in altering the mind of humans. Literature can be also viewed as a type of media because literature helps the readers understand the conditions of certain societies.
Klages, M. (2006). Literary Theory: A guide for the perplexed . London: Continum International Publishing Group.
From the very beginning of human species, literature existed side by side. Human life, in the form of human passions, feelings, loves, sufferings, and human history existed in the literatures. Human legends started with the very stone age, recorded in the stone scripts. It was a human need to communicate the past to the future generations. Poetry, as an art form, has been for many centuries praised, contemplated and has continued to affect man. Man has used poetry to express love and grief, birth and death, innocence and guilt, heaven and hell in a more effective way. In order to achieve such a way of expression the poet does not have any other material at his disposal except language. However in poetry, this language itself, turns out to be the goal of the poet rather than only an instrument for communication. Her/his way of expressing ideas and emotions summarises the poets craftsmanship and creativity. What the poet does is that he/she illustrates and exemplifies how language can be used to achieve the most effective way of expression. Poems deal with universal themes such as love and hate, birth and death, innocence and guilt, heaven and hell, which are familiar to all readers. For this reason, believing in the importance of literature and the contribution of poetry to language teaching and learning, we have decided to use poetry to act as a means to enrich the language awareness of ELT majors.
In their essay, ‘The Intentional Fallacy’ (1946), William K. Wimsatt Jr. and Monroe C. Beardsley, two of the most eminent figures of the New Criticism school of thought of Literary Criticism, argue that the ‘intention’ of the author is not a necessary factor in the reading of a text.
Literature is an intricate art form. In order to attempt to understand the meanings and ideas within literary work, there are many forms of criticism that propose different approaches to its interpretation. Each criticism is crucial to the understanding of how individuals interpret literary works. Since each criticism has a different approach to enrich the understanding literary works, the question is raised whether one criticism should be used over others, whether a certain combination of criticisms should be used, or whether all criticisms should be taken into account. This may all be dependent on the reader’s individual preference or opinion, but each criticism presented builds on the others to create a well-rounded and unique understanding