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Literary Definitions

A structural paradox is one that is necessary to the entirety, of a poem. The works of poets such as John Donne are famed for their paradoxical usage in their metaphysical poetry. One the sonnets which features in Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward begins with a prime example of a usage: "If poisonous minerals, and if that tree/ Whose fruit threw death on else immortal us." The connotations seem to be some- what inextricable. It seems to imply that the fruit was poisonous and burdened us with original sin. However what Donne is exposing is the way that the real paradox lies in mankind as a whole. After all we cannot be immortal except for one "brush with death", because the very term immortal means to live forever.
             Some critical theory goes so far as to suggest that the language of poetry is the language of paradox. "A paradoxical vision of the behavior and state of human kind is inherent in much nonsense poetry and also in plays belonging to the Theatre of the Absurd". Although as Brooks states he is not interested in enumerating the possible variations; but in seeing the way that paradoxes spring from the very nature of the poet/ author/ playwright's language. .
             Whilst paradox is a concept which is central to formalism, another central concept is of langue and parole which are of fundamental importance to structuralism. They are terms introduced by Ferdinand de Saussure that are unsurprisingly French, for which the English translations in short (and approximately) are "language" and "speech". "Langue denotes the system or totality of language shared by the "collective consciousness"" This means the complete notion of language as we know it, every element of language plus the rules for their combination, undoubtedly including grammar, syntax. For instance the overwhelming trait of George Elliot is the langue in her work, for instance the very first paragraph of Middlemarch opens with the second sentence being almost unbearably long.


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1. Literary Genres

I think that the issue of literary genres, in a sense, has not exactly been resolved. ... This is because there is no precise definition of what literature and/or literary is, even more so, accurate qualifications to be included in a literary genre. ... Most definitions of literature have been criterial definitions, definitions based on a list of criteria which all literary works must meet. ... Moreover, personal essays and researched articles are not literary works because they are not part of the literary genre. ... If only they would provide an explicit definition of every genre, whic...

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2. Types of Literary Theories

New Criticism Was a formalist movement in literary theory that dominated literary criticism in the middle decades of the 20th century. According to new criticism, the literary text contains its own meaning within itself. ... They deal with the study of literature as literariness. ... There is nothing in a literary work that can be seen and studied in isolation. ... Whereas post-structuralism applies linguistic insights to literary texts. ...

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3. Aesthetics Definition

The Poetics, by Aristotle, is one of the most important books ever written in the theory of tragedy, literary criticism, and aesthetics. ... Tragedy, in his definition, is a whole network of criteria of evaluation. ... IN his definition, aesthetics is a way of studying perception, knowledge is from senses, and distinct from knowledge derived by processes of mutation. ... Artifacts, by definition are "the utility of which form a significant part of its identity". ... By his definition, it means that the sight of the thing makes us objective. ...

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4. Literary Merit - Defining Timeless Literature

Literary merit has many different meanings. ... This is one of the literary merits that are touched upon in this poem. ... This poem shows examples of literary merit because it is complex. ... All of the works have one of these definitions present. ... There are multiple other definitions that could have been defined by these works of literature but these seemed like the ones that brought out what the true meanings the author was trying to convey....

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5. More A Mouse Than A Man

What do critics from the literary world have to say about Steinbeck's writings? ... A single purpose has directed his experimentation, a single ideas has guided his literary thought. ... Altogether Beach's method is to compare Steinbeck's characteristics with a broad range of literary accomplishments, rather than to judge the "correctness of his position regarding contemporary urgencies and controversies" (Tedlock 20). ... Particularly acute is his remarking that it was clear from the first that Steinbeck would never be "a literary naturalist" despite his interest in biology (...

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6. Research Methods for English and Literary Studies

Interestingly, Romberg's (1975) definition is in line with this view. ... Functions of Linguistic and Literary Research Linguistic and literary research exists to achieve the following 1. ... Precision, related to operational definition of terms is used in research. The definition of operationism will suffice to drive home the point. ... Linking the concept to an observable event is an operational definition of the concept and makes the concept public. ...

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7. Egyptian Literary Feminism

"Egyptian Literary Feminism" What is Literary feminism? ... By general a definition, feminism is a philosophy in which women and their contributions are valued. ... Literary feminism is a fuel, is a written medium to communicate the philosophy of feminism. ... At the end however, she becomes a gender stereotypical woman to most people's definitions of a typical woman and she was enjoying it. ...

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8. The Sociology of Literature

There are some definitions of sociology introduced by some experts as follows: Sociology not only deals with the social interaction in a social institution but also deal with the social changes in society. ... The definition of literature, can be found also of explanation by Damono ( 2013:1), according to him, a literary work is created by an author, in order to be enjoyed, understood, and can be utilized by the member of society. ... Literature as a Social Reflection (Mimetic) The definition of "reflection" still very vague, therefore it always is misinterpreted. ... Literature as a...

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9. Literature and History

The concepts of history and literature can easily become intertwined in ambiguous definitions; however, both historical and literary texts are needed in order to fully understand a time period in the past. ... Even in the Dharmashastras (Law Books), a literary source, there are biased views due to the Brahman authors. ... Literary texts give information regarding to history, such as geographical clues and cultural traditions. The Rig Veda is considered the earliest piece of literary work in India. ... The definitions of history and literature are intertwined, making a clear definition hard...

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