What is Literature?

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An essential volume on literary theory and criticism in the European tradition. Many of the most influential thinkers and writers in fields as diverse as literary criticism, philosophy, psychoanalysis, sociology and history have posed the question: "What is literature?". Attempts to define literature lead to further questions: What is literature for? Who decides whether a written work is literature? What are the criteria? What sets literary language apart from ordinary language? What is Literature? A Critical Anthology addresses these and other fundamental questions in literary studies, bringing together essays spanning more than two centuries to explore our conceptions of literature and its meanings, values, and purposes. Focusing on the Western literary tradition, this volume includes an introduction which discusses literature's foundations in ancient Greek philosophy, explores the emergence of literature as a distinct form in the eighteenth century, and provides insights into modern literary theory. The anthology features essays by figures central to the definition of literature as an idea, including Immanuel Kant, G.W.F. Hegel, Friedrich Nietzsche, Virginia Woolf and T.S. Eliot, and a selection of those who have called that idea into question, such as Jacques Derrida, Hélène Cixous, Edward Said, Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak and Jacques Rancière. Offering a carefully curated examination of the nature of literature, this book: * Presents diverse perspectives and reflections on the meanings of "literature" * Offers a wide-ranging selection of significant texts on literary theory * Includes essays by contemporary voices on literature and criticism * Features many complete and substantial selections, rather than excerpts A unique and thoughtful approach for understanding the idea of literature, What is Literature? A Critical Anthology is an important resource for students and scholars of literature and literary criticism.