Chapter 2, What Is Literature and Does It Matter? Summary and Analysis

For studies of theory, it is immaterial if the subject text is literary or non-literary. Both literary and non-literary works can be studied in similar ways.

There exists a literariness of non-literary works. Qualities one could assume to be exclusive to literary works are nonetheless contained in non-literary discourses as well. For example, a historic account of World War I is not presented in a scientific manner; rather, it is told in the logical sequences of a story—a literary narrative. Theorists have supported the use in non-literary texts of rhetorical devices such as metaphors formerly considered to be just ornamental flourish in such works. However, in illustrating how such rhetorical tools can shape discourses in non-literary works demonstrates that literariness is certainly present in such...