As I was reading the section “The nature of Literature” the most interesting angle I’ve read so far is Poetry. “Poetry organizes the sound plane of language so as to make it something to reckon with” (pg 29). At first I did m=not understand how poetry can organize the sound but then I’ve realized that poems have a rhythm as well and its rhymes. Poems are useful because it can give a reader a sense of how someone is feeling without actuating writing the specific words down. 

What is literature and does it matter ? Jonathan cellular points out that literature is interesting to think that the definition of the world itself is not so easily pinned down. Many qualities of literature can be applied to outside subjects with relative ease. Culler mentions that it comes in all shapes and sizes and literature may have some qualities that differentiate it from autobiography or song for instance. literary apart from other forms of writing. The nature of literature is also important because of their unique structure and function many types of poetry are instantly recognizable. Literature creates a fictional world in which the reader is privy to complex narrative woven using different techniques. Literature matters because theory has heighted the literariness of texts of all sorts. The suspension of the demand for immediate intelligibility, reflection on the implications of means expression, and attention on the implications of means of expression and attention to how meaning is made and pleasure produced.

1. The most important aspect of this chapter I’ve gathered after reading the first 10 pages is that there are many ways to interpret what literature actually is, and how it is hard to define it. The author makes it clear that there are multiple interpretations and opinions on what literature can be and what counts as such. I believe the reason why the author brings this up is because he wants us to try and challenge our current views on literature and non literature so that we can gain a better understanding of the chapter overall.
2. Why does the author separate literature and non literature when it is all up to interpretation?

The chapter asks more than just “what is literature and does it matter?” The chapter breaks down the definition of literature and rebuilds it as something that is subjective to the time and culture that it is being consumed in. As a result, the context of the words becomes just as important as the level of attention the words seem to beg for. These definitions are important because what might not be considered literature today may very well be respected and dissected in college classrooms years down the line, it is important to have an open mind.

One question that stuck with me is, who is it that gets the final say on what is literature? Is it a group of literary scholars who come together and decide?

1.During the first ten pages of the chapter of the book, I’ve learned with literature there are many ways it can be categorized and there are many many definitions for it. To me the most important part of literature in the chapter is “ Treating texts as literature” (pg 23). Anything of the sort a play, a poem era story can be literature so in my opinion I think its amazing how anything can be literature like texts. literature is not tied down to one definition, it can be anything thing you read. 

2. The only question that kept coming to mind was “ why does literature have so many categories? “

1.After reading chapter 2 in “What is literature, and does it matter?” by Jonathan Culler, I believe the important part is about the method we use to define literature. We can do this by providing examples about works that may not be literatures. Furthermore, it tells us how this connects to speeches, sermons, history, philosophy, poem, and story. In the first ten pages of the second chapter of the book Literary Theory,” Culler give us examples of poems and stories like Shakespeare’s Hamlet and the ‘My Love is like a red, red rose’ by Robert Bruns. In this paragraph, Culler details how theorists explore the different interpretations between different literary works. In poems they use rhymes, but also tell stories about their feelings and emotions to share with the person who is reading it while the novel is plotted to a story that keeps you captivated. Even though it is hard to tell what is the difference with what is literature and non-literature, it is better to get an understanding with both. However, at the end of the day, certain literary works have continued to influence the way we live our lives.

2.After reading this chapter, the question reverberates throughout my head is “what is the importance between literary and non-literary for human life?” I would like to understand this better, is it that maybe we, as individuals, interpret literary works and non literary works in different manners.

After reading “What is literature and does it matter? written by Jonathan Culler in my point of view the most important aspect is that “literature comes in all shapes and sizes and most of them seem to have more in common with works that aren’t usually called literature than they do with some other works recognized as literature (p 21)”. As discussed in the chapter the author mentioned that literature maybe a poem, play, or narrative. The way that they are written differs from each other. To name some are poems and sonnets are written on shorter lines while narratives are longer. Some articles are written more interesting because the authors used different devices such as figures of speech such as simile, metaphor, hyperbole and etc..There are two characteristics that could lead to identifying first, the theory itself which intermingles with the different fields of learning. Second, we can say that all text is somewhat not equal some text is created more powerful and intense while some are soft and weak. The importance of thinking about the definition of literature plays a huge part in understanding the components of the literature. Moreover, it is an undertaking of the writers and the readers that require knowledge, deeper understanding, and skills in carrying out their tasks.

The question that stayed with me while reading this article is that Does literature play a significant role in identifying a particular generation?