A literary canon is a group of important literary works from a particular time period or place, established by influential critics, scholars, and teachers. The canon is constantly evolving and subjective, based on relevance to current trends and events. The popularity and relevance of a work can change over time, leading to additions or subtractions from the canon. The definition of the canon itself is also subject to change and subjectivity, but it implies authority and exclusivity.
The term “literary canon” refers to a classification of literature. It is a term widely used to refer to a group of literary works considered to be the most important of a particular time period or place. For example, there may be a canon made up of works from a particular country, or works written in a certain set of years, or even a collection of works that were all written during a certain time period and within a certain region . In this way, a literary canon establishes a collection of similar or related literary works.
Of course, there are many ways literary works can be classified, but the canon appears to apply some validity or authority to a literary work. When a work is inscribed into the canon, thus canonized, it acquires the status of an official inclusion in a widely studied and respected group of literary works. Those who decide whether a work will be canonized include influential literary critics, scholars, teachers, and anyone whose opinions and judgments about a literary work are widely respected. For this reason there are no strict qualifications for canonization and whether a work will be canonized remains a subjective decision.
Literary canons, like the works that compose them and the judgments of those who create them, are constantly evolving. Literature is influenced by the experiences and thoughts of writers and readers. Literature, therefore, changes in the context of changing experience and thinking. This context is important for the establishment of a literary canon. More often than not, it’s those works that are considered contextually relevant that gain entry into the canon. This means that the literary work is relevant to current trends or movements in thought and art, or deals with historical or contemporary events, etc.
Often, the popularity of a literary work is based not only on the quality but also on the relevance of its subject to its historical, social and artistic context. A popular or respected work of literature usually deals with what people are most interested in, and this interest weighs on whether the work is canonized or not. While the text of a literary work does not change over time, the meaning that readers derive from it, and therefore the attention paid to a literary work, can change. As people’s thoughts and experiences change, a work of literature can drift in and out of contextual interest and relevance. Over time, literary canons will reflect these changes, and works may be added to or subtracted from the canon.
To make matters more ambiguous, the popular definition of the literary canon also changes over time. This change, like the changing inclusions of literary canons, can be attributed to subjectivity. For example, a popular definition of a canon refers to religious validity, implying that canonized works are officially recognized by a church and are considered religiously appropriate. Within this definition, however, the canon remains a basis for judgment, a standard that must be met in order for a work of literature to be considered canonized. Thus, regardless of the exact definition of a literary canon, or the works of which it is composed, the canon still implies an “otherness” to the works it excludes and an authority to the works it includes.
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