Marcus

Literary journalism and law student from Australia.

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    Latest Topics

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    literature
    Literary Merit
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    What is Literary Merit, Exactly?

    To a certain extent, genre fiction like fantasy, science fiction and romance are disparaged as being "lesser" than literary fiction. Like Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" however, the line between genre and literary fiction can often be blurred.

    It begs the question: what is literary merit, exactly?

    Is literary merit purely contingent on thematic complexity? Is it the author's mastery of prose? Can purely "feel-good" works be considered as literarily meritious?

    • This is a good point. Perhaps the way to approach this topic is look at several classics in literature and how they were accepted or not accepted when they were first released--not every classic now was a classic the moment it was released. – Joseph Cernik 4 years ago
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    • Fascinating topic! As Joseph pointed out, you can't answer this question without looking at historical context: Dickens wrote lowbrow serials and was paid by the word, Shakespeare's plays entertained the masses with bawdy jokes, and in the 18C, novels were thought to be immoral and foolish. How did these come to be considered "literarily meritous"? Could part of it be the way they represent the literary movements of their times? I think Atwood's prose is divine, but I wouldn't say the same of Godwin's Caleb Williams (and I read that in multiple college-level English courses) so could it be that it earned merit by standing up to the test of time (and immortalizing a contemporary way of thinking)? I wonder about Jane Austen, too, whose novels some people see as merely "feel-good," while others read her as a witty social commentator. Then perhaps literary merit has more to do with how the majority of people interpret a work over time than its content necessarily? – rosebo 4 years ago
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    • This could make for a neat article that closely analyzes the specific criteria that have formed the basis (and biases) for judging the literary worth of books. A historical analysis—e.g. a chronological look at specific authors who did(n't) achieve literary recognition in their heyday, particularly those who blend literary and genre fiction—could work, which can be supplemented with propositions for new criteria that judge books against the context of modern times and sensibilities. – Michel Sabbagh 4 years ago
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    • Jane Eyre is a good example of contextual differences. Today, we place it high on the literary merit shelf. But, when it was first published it was dismissed when it was discovered that the writer was a woman. I think, perhaps, you could find numerous examples of texts that have similar histories. – Samantha Leersen 4 years ago
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    Latest Comments

    Jul 8, 2020
    Marcus

    Great article! As a horror fan, I’ll have to check out some of these films!

    		 How Modern Horror Tropes are Revitalizing the Current Horror Genre
    Jun 12, 2020
    Marcus

    I love how diversity is increasingly being highlighted in books, especially being a person of colour (POC).

    I do agree that sometimes diversity can be forced (i.e. including a POC character only for the sake of “diversity” but not fleshing them out and/or portraying them as token characters). But genuine representation in books is definitely up-and-coming, and I’m here for it!

    		 The Long-Term Positivity of Multi-Cultural Children's Books
    Jun 12, 2020
    Marcus

    I don’t think all remakes are bad. As the author has pointed out in the article, films like Maleficent, which I adore, add another dimension to the original story by telling it from another perspective. Despite the use of artistic license in doing so, I like to view it as an act of re-interpretation.

    While I’m a big fan of the music in the animated version of Mulan, I don’t think taking it out from the live-action film is as detrimental as it’s made out to be. A few comments above have already mentioned how the live-action film is purportedly more faithful to the original story as opposed to the animated film. In this sense, I think taking out the music was a risky but valid artistic choice in order for the remake to be more faithful to Mulan’s story.

    I also appreciated the comparison between the Disney version and the original ballad – definitely learned something new about the differences between the two!

    		 Disney's Mulan is NOT a Musical & Why that Makes it a Superior Remake
    Jun 12, 2020
    Marcus

    I was never drawn to reading fanfiction myself; I was never against it either. However, I’m vaguely aware that fanfiction tends to garner a lot of pejorative comments from the reading/writing community.

    It seems to me that these comments stem from a sense of elitism that aspiring novelists (those who craft their own “original” stories) hold against fanfiction writers who engage in the act of “re-vision” of established works. But at the end of the day, it’s still writing, isn’t it? To me, writing should never be an exclusive activity that can only be enjoyed by a small elite group.

    Thus, this is an absolutely fantastic article defending the value, meaning and sense of community that fanfiction hold for people, especially those belonging to the LGBT+ community. Maybe I’ll go read fanfiction now!

    		 Fanfiction: An Ally to Queer Fans