AP Language Literature and Terms

Importance of Literature

Why Study Literature?

The Necessity of Studying Literature? The subject of literature is human experience.

The Necessity of Studying Literature C.S. Lewis said, “We seek an enlargement of our being. We want to be more than ourselves. Each of us by nature sees the whole world from one point of view with a perspective and a selectiveness peculiar to himself . . . . We want to see with other eyes, to imagine with other imaginations, to feel with other hearts, as well as with our own . . . . We demand windows . . . . This, so far as I can see, is the specific value or good of literature . . . ; it admits us to experiences other than our own . . . . My own eyes are not enough for me, I will see through those of others.”

The Necessity of Studying Literature The Bible itself is literature – it is a piece of art.

The Necessity of Studying Literature Christians with a high regard for God’s Word are often so preoccupied with its theological content they are scarcely aware of the artistic features of the Bible.

The Necessity of Studying Literature The Bible encourages acquaintance with fictional literature and poetry.

The Necessity of Studying Literature For recreation and enjoyment.

The Values of Imaginative Literature Shows a language of concern – a vision not simply of what exists in the world, but a vision of reality as perceived by a valuing human being

Intellectual Value of Literature Gain an historical perspective Understand our own culture and civilization Understand people

The Value of Literature as a "Fine (Beautiful) Art" “For as God is infinitely the greatest Being, so He is allowed to be infinitely the most beautiful and excellent: and all the beauty to be found throughout the whole creation, is but the reflection of the diffused beams of that Being who hath an infinite fullness of brightness and glory; God . . . is the foundation and fountain of all being and all beauty.” Jonathan Edwards, The Nature of True Virtue

Beauty from a Biblical Perspective The Bible teaches that beauty is an attribute or perfection of God and that He is the source of beauty, just as He is the source of truth.

God as Beautiful Creator The lesson to be learned from the Bible’s portrait of God as Creator is that God values beauty as well as utility. He did not create a purely functional world (the trees in the Garden of Eden were not only “good for food” but also “pleasant to the sight”). We create because we are made in God’s image. Our first glimpse of God in the Bible is as Creator. To delight in the work of the human imagination is to value the image of God in people. God values beauty. “[God] . . . who put such a thing as this into the heart of the king, to beautify the house of the Lord.”

The Usefulness of Literature Learning something from the past about how to live in our culture? Classicism – reason Romanticism – emotions Naturalism – drives and impulses

Usefulness of Literature - Knowledge Writers are sensitive observers of reality. Literature is the knowledge of human experience.

Usefulness ofLiterature – Knowledge of Human Experience External world of physical objects World of human emotions General problems and/or social issues

Often, the knowledge of literature comes with greatest impact when a reader or viewer is so moved by the presentation that he or she cannot verbalize about the work of literature but only experience it

Reject This Common Model Literature = truth given to the reader to form his life/worldview

Literature is a catalyst to thought. Anyone's worldview should arise from considered and responsible deliberation.

Accept This New Model – Biblical Truth Literature/Worldview

Objectionable Elements Give a man a fish, feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish, feed him for a lifetime.

Objectionable Elements Five Categories Profanity Sexual perversion

Objectionable Elements – cont. 3. Lurid violence Occultism

Objectionable Elements – cont. 5. Erroneous religious or philosophical assumptions

Positions on Objectionable Elements Permissivist View – allows for censorable elements in a work of compensating aesthetic qualities allows for censorable elements because of the necessity in art of an honest view of life Weaknesses – too subjective and utilitarian – does not rest on absolute moral principles ideas of the world and of life vary greatly

Positions – cont. 2. Exclusivist View – Believes that because evil is evil , any unavoidable exposure to it is wrong for even the most praiseworthy of purposes.

Exclusivist View – cont. 2. The Bible contains all objectionable elements.

Exclusivist View Profanity Sexual Perversion Lurid Violence Occultism Erroneous Religious and Philosophical Assumptions

Exclusivist View – cont. Weaknesses – based on a misapplication or misinterpretation of Scripture

3. Pragmatic View Consider some compromise is necessary if one is to get along in a fallen world Weaknesses Misapplication of I Cor. 5:10 Implies that it is impossible to live a life according to the will of a holy God. Christians cannot accept a policy of convenience.

4. Biblical View The Bible itself is the supreme literary and pedagogical model The image of God in redeemed man – Christlikeness - includes moral understanding

Criteria of worth Principle of Gratuitousness – is the representation of evil purposeful or is it present for its own sake? Principle of Explicitness- is the representation of evil, if purposeful, represented in an acceptable degree? Is it more conspicuous or vivid than the purpose warrants?

Criteria of Worth cont. Principle of Moral Tone is evil presented from a condemning perspective? Is it made to appear both dangerous and repulsive? What is the attitude of the work toward it?

Inoculation Analogy Strength of dosage Resistance of the donor Amount of exposure to evil Resistance of the donor condemning perspective provided by the teacher Strength of the recipient readiness of the student to benefit from the negative example