I love to read. That’s why I got into literature, plain and simple. I couldn’t imagine any more enjoyable way to spend my time than reading and discussing great stories with other people who had read them. However, I guess that doesn’t sound “academic” enough, so let me get the academic stuff out of the way.
Literature is usually defined as something like “written works of superior artistic merit” but that doesn’t really tell us much about what literature is, why many people love it, and why studying it is considered essential to a well-rounded education. Horace, a Roman poet, tells us that literature “should teach and delight.” The delight part is what most of us focus on because we all love a good story, but works of “superior artistic merit,” the kind that are usually used in most Literature classes, should also have something to say to each of us about life. Literature lets us live in different times and different places than we can ever experience in our real life. It can put us in the shoes of people whose situations are radically different from our own, promoting empathy and understanding. It can teach us about history, geography, science, math, art, and every other subject we study. It makes us more informed citizens and stronger critical thinkers.
The “superior artistic merit” also refers to the actual words used, the way the sentences and paragraphs are constructed, the way they make you feel, and the pictures they create. Great literature uses language in a way that sets it apart from everyday language. As with most art, it is hard to describe, but you know it when you see it. Hopefully, even if you don’t care for a particular story, you’ll still understand why it is said to have artistic merit.
In many high school literature classes, much time is spent on “What does it mean?” We’re going to spend less time on that and more time on “What does it actually say?” “What is the text interested in?” and “What questions is it asking?” We’re going to focus on close reading to a great extent.
OK, now that I’ve said the academic things about literature, let’s get back to the “I love to read” part. Maybe you don’t love to read. But everyone has the “I love a good story” part. Focus on that. Enjoy these stories. Don’t think about dissecting them as we were often taught to do in high school. We will analyze, but we aren’t going to be ripping the guts out and trying to find inner workings that make the stories less fun and more work. I really want you to enjoy the stories. I want to talk about the stories. Any analysis should make them more fun and enjoyable and not less. Welcome to my take on College Literature.
