Marco Verch via Compfight
Requirement:
Your post should be approximately 300-350 words long. Use brief detail/references/examples from the text to back-up your claims. If you are writing about The Siege, the most obvious aspect to consider would be the knowledge gained into the historical and political context of the narrative.
Question:
Does familiarity with literature itself provide knowledge and, if so, of what kind – knowledge of facts, of the author, of the conventions of the form or tradition, of psychology or cultural history, of oneself?
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Literature itself in English is defined as “written works, especially those considered of superior or lasting artistic merit.” Different literature could have different areas of focus, written in different styles by various authors. Literature itself is an art form, and the nature of art determines that artworks are created by the personal knowledge of the artist, and aims to provoke personal responses from the audience. The intention of the artist will always be different from the understanding of the audiences. The nature of art makes it similar to history, and human sciences. The similarity is also in the analysis of the subject: one needs to be content with the evidence provided to support their claim.
The kind of knowledge that the literature provides is a shared one, as most of the personal message would not be able to reach the audience. However, through analysis of the texts, one would get a clearer image of the author’s intention. As fictional novels are too, based on facts according to real life, and the accuracy of such knowledge gained is based on one’s faith of the author. The language and the cultural context of the literature also plays a part, and it is the setting of the text, and understanding these background information is very important. One example is that the setting for the story of “The Reader” is pre-WWII and post-WWII, whereas Germany (the protagonist’s country of origin) played an active part. It would be crucial to understanding these factors to understand the retrospection of the Germans of their past.
Although the aim of the author would not be the same as what the audience thought that the author is trying to convey, literature is still able to provide the audience with their personal knowledge. The audience will experience the book by reading it directly themselves, and based on their imagination and emotions, perhaps memories; the response provoked will be different for each.
