一个英语生的文学导论课笔记.doc

An introduction to literature Literature 一、What is literature? Literature comes from Latin litterae, meaning letter in English. The word literature literally means acquaintance with letters and the term letters is sometimes used to signify literature, as in the figures of speech arts and letters and man of letters. General meanings? ①published writings in a particular style on a particular subject (publications, books, brochures and so on) ②creative writing of recognized artistic value (artistic and literary writings) ③the profession or art of a writer (vocation) ④the humanistic study of a body of literature (subject) ⑤musical product ⑥knowledge or learning ⑦reading (supplementary literature) A Crazy Act Literature is about writing in a particular country of a period, all over the world in general. Literature is a writing which has claimed to consider underground of beauty of form, and emotional effect. (Aestheticism) Literature is all the writings that have permanent value, excellent form and great emotional effect. Literature is a writing having excellence of form or expression, and expressing ideas of permanence of universal interest. (critical mind) A developing term. Aestheticism Aestheticism (or the Aesthetic Movement) was a 19th century European art movement that emphasized aesthetic values more than socio-political themes for literature, fine art, the decorative arts, and interior design. Generally, it represents the same tendencies that symbolism or decadence represented in France, and may be considered the British version of the same style. It was part of the anti-19th century reaction and had post-Romantic origins, and as such anticipates modernism. It was a feature of the late 19th century from about 1868 to about 1900. The artists and writers of Aesthetic style used the slogan Art for Arts Sake(艺术是纯粹的), tended to profess that the Arts should provide refined sensuous pleasure, rather than convey moral or sentimental messages. Instead, they believed tha