Re-Defining Literature and trying to establish what is Literature

Re-Defining Literature

Literature, in a weird sense, can be said to be a genuinely rendered sum total of someone’s sociological, psychological, philosophical, anthropological, historical, theosophical, ontological, scientific, and political sense. Now, that I say it, I have already asked for an apology that I might sound complicated. However, if one sits to frame literature within a certain framework, either he will run away pinching his hairs or he will not be able to digest something said by a Victorian figure after reading something by Terry Eagleton. That is why Literature needs a definition that can suit everyone's perception.

The definition that I have put forth is not a rash verdict. Moreover, nor is it a display of the little knowledge I have earned. The line that I speak of Literature has come to my mind after examining various works of Literature itself. Yet, I confirm that I find this definition lacking a lot! Let us assume a novelist writing a novel. Undoubtedly, he/she will take the inspiration from history; put a layer of the psychological, philosophical and sociological sense; give the resultant a certain political turn and if necessary, there is going to be a sort of theosophical polish! Nevertheless, it is never essential that we find all these in a literary piece. I remember a novel, Animal Farm. It does not give you anything else except the sarcastic political commentary and yes, the fun! The things that it lacks are theosophical sense and ontological sense, at the least. However, it is a piece of literature because it has a good number of elements as per the theory propagated above. Having said that, the conclusion that we arrive at is - we cannot give a 'proper' definition of Literature. Nevertheless, I think that I have tried something in this field...

Alok Mishra

Editor-in-Chief

Ashvamegh

Defining Literature: (What is Literature); Definition of Literature: English Literature

Defining Literature

Looking for the definition of literature is the same Herculean task that every student of literary curious person has to take up; however, the result is the same – either a philosophized hallucination or nothing! To define literature in the most appropriate terms is very difficult and rather impossible (this is what I think to be true; and most others too). In the academic days, a teacher may come in the class with his spectacles on the forehead and might tell you that ‘literature is the mirror of society’. It is, however, the most suiting of the available definitions. Literature is, indeed, the mirror of society. Nevertheless, will you take the risk to ask him that which ‘image’? A real image; a forged image; a virtual image; or some other image! The question them moves to a new level of the argument. What type of mirror is literature is? A plain mirror that reflects simply what it observes; a convex mirror that forges the image otherwise; or a concave mirror that starts predicting rather than reflecting…

Therefore, friends, defining literature persists to be a pain in neck for the students, teachers, and scholars. We offer you to construct a definition of your own for best results!