Week Ten - Literature, So What?
I've just been thinking about the question "Literature, so what," which is coming up really soon for our semester exams and what it really means to me. I find it hard to distinguish what is, and what isn't literature. I mean, just because something is popular culture, like for example the lyrics to a song, does it not classify as literature because its music? Yet what about the words in the lyrics themselves, if they follow a set form which can be something like a poem or a rhyme pattern would that classify as literature? So I think i've narrowed the quesiton down: for myself, I classify literature as anything that involves written words and has been constructed for the purpose of making a point clear and expressing one's self. Therefore, literature can be anything, from the lyrics to a song to a fiction novel like Harry Potter, and that can also be classified as popualr culture too. I also think just because something isn't studied, it doesn't mean its not literature. Like a movie for example, while it may not be studied it can be classified as literature in the sense that it uses the visual medium and characters to illustrate emotions through dialogue.