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Literary theory and the definition of literature Although any definition of literature is debatable, most would agree that an examination of a text's total artistic situation such as the work itself, the artist, the world the work represents, and the audience or the readers would help us decide if it is literature or not.Sainte-Beuve, which his immense range of learning and his keen sense of critical and judicious detachment, was the supreme exponent of historicism.Whether we read a text to learn from it or to be entertained, we can say that after we have read a text, we "know" that text. We can know a text in two distinct ways. The first way happens when we have studied, analyzed a text and arrived at an interpretation in a typical literature classroom. The second way is when we spend time reading a novel and by the novel's end, eagerly seek the resolution. Both methods - one with its chief goal to learn, the other to entertain - cause us to know a text, but in two different ways. To say that we know a text is no simple statement. The formal study of literary theory enables us to explain our responses to any text and allows us to articulate the function of literature in an academic and personal way. Who are the first persons who developed the philosophy of art & Life? The Greeks of the fifth century. These Athenians questioned the very act of reading and writing itself. From the fifth century to the present, critics such as Plato, Dante, and Wordsworth have developed principles of criticism. - 14 -

History of Literary Criticism Literary criticism begins with the Greeks, but little of their work has survived. Aristotle's Poetics is mostly devoted to drama; and Plato's theories of literature are scarcely literary criticism. From the Romans the major works are Horace's Ars Poetica and the works on rhetoric composed by Cicero and Quintilian. The first important critical essay in the Christian era is Louginus"s On His Sublime, and the first medieval critic of note was Dante who, in his De Vulgari Eloquentic, addressed himself to the problems of language appropriate to poetry.The new views found expression in Wordsworth's Preface to the Second Edition of the Lyrical Ballads (1800), Coleridge's Biographia Literaria (1817), Shelley's Defense of Poetry (1820) - a reply to Peacock's ironical debunking in The Four Ages of Poetry (1820) and The Philosophy of Composition (1846), and Matthew Arnold's Essay in Criticism (1865, 1888).Recent criticism has tended to be more and more closely analytical in the evaluation and interpretation of literature, as is evident in the achievements of major critics like M.ll Abrams and Eric Auerbach.Such a consideration of a text's artistic situation broadens the definition of literature from the concept that it is simply a written work with certain qualities to a definition that includes the dynamic interrelationship of the text and the readers.There was thus a reaction against Neoclassicism, an increasing interest in literatures other than those of Greece and Rome, and a greater variety of opinions about literature, about the language to be used, and about the creative and imaginative faculties and processes of the writer.For example, Vida's Poetica (1527), a treatise on the art of poetry; du Bellay's Deffense et Zllustration (1549); and Lope de Vega's New Art of Making Comedies (1609).On the other hand, for reader- oriented critics, the interaction between the text and the reader help determine whether a document should be deemed literary.

Literary theory and the definition of literature
Although any definition of literature is debatable, most would agree that an examination of a text’s total artistic situation such as the work itself, the artist, the world the work represents, and the audience or the readers would help us decide if it is literature or not. Such a consideration of a text’s artistic situation broadens the definition of literature from the concept that it is simply a written work with certain qualities to a definition that includes the dynamic interrelationship of the text and the readers. If this is so, then a literary work may be more functional than ontological and, therefore, its value being determined by its readers and not by the work itself.
Overall, the definition of literature depends on the particular kind of literary theory or school of criticism that the reader supports. For formalists, for example, it is only the text that contains certain qualities which can be referred to as literature. On the other hand, for reader- oriented critics, the interaction between the text and the reader help determine whether a document should be deemed literary.
The function of literature and literary theory
Critics continually debate literature’s chief function. The followers of Plato contend that literature’s primary function is moral. But others, such as Aristotle, hold that a work of art can be analyzed with its various parts, with each part contributing to the overall enjoyment of the work itself. For these critics, the value of a text is found within the text itself. In its most simple terms, the debate centers around two concerns: is literature’s

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chief function to teach or to entertain? In other words, can we read a text for the sheer fun of it, or must we always be learning from what we read?
Such questions and their answers lead us directly to literary theory because literary theory concerns itself not only with ontological questions but also with epistemological issues. When we ask, then, if literature’s chief function is to entertain or to teach, we are really asking epistemological questions. Whether we read a text to learn from it or to be entertained, we can say that after we have read a text, we “know” that text.
We can know a text in two distinct ways. The first way happens when we have studied, analyzed a text and arrived at an interpretation in a typical literature classroom. The second way is when we spend time reading a novel and by the novel’s end, eagerly seek the resolution. Both methods - one with its chief goal to learn, the other to entertain - cause us to know a text, but in two different ways.
To say that we know a text is no simple statement. The formal study of literary theory enables us to explain our responses to any text and allows us to articulate the function of literature in an academic and personal way.
Who are the first persons who developed the philosophy of art & Life?
The Greeks of the fifth century. These Athenians questioned the very act of reading and writing itself. From the fifth century to the present, critics such as Plato, Dante, and Wordsworth have developed principles of criticism.

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History of Literary Criticism
Literary criticism begins with the Greeks, but little of their work has survived. Aristotle’s Poetics is mostly devoted to drama; and Plato’s theories of literature are scarcely literary criticism. From the Romans the major works are Horace’s Ars Poetica and the works on rhetoric composed by Cicero and Quintilian. The first important critical essay in the Christian era is Louginus‟s On His Sublime, and the first medieval critic of note was Dante who, in his De Vulgari Eloquentic, addressed himself to the problems of language appropriate to poetry. The Renaissance writers and critics for the most part followed the Classical rules on the principle that the ancients were bound to have been right; but there were some attempts at originality. For example, Vida’s Poetica (1527), a treatise on the art of poetry; du Bellay’s Deffense et Zllustration (1549); and Lope de Vega’s New Art of Making Comedies (1609). In England there is little criticism of note until Puttenhan’s The Art of English Poeise (1589) and Sidney’s Apologie for poetrie (1595), which is important because it is a detailed examination of the art of poetry and a discussion of the state of English poetry at the time.
For nearly a hundred years the major critical works to appear tended to reinforce the classical tradition and rules. Some of the main works were Ben Jonson’s Timber; or Discoveries (1640), Pierre Corneille’s Discours (1660) and Boileau’s L’Art Poetique (1673). With Dryden, however, in his Essay of Dramatic Poesy (1668) – not to mention his prefaces, dedications and open-mindedness whose critical essays are works of art in themselves. He, if anybody, showed the way to the people function of criticism. In the 18th c. G.B.Vico, the Italian critic and

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philosopher, was the pioneer of the historical approach to literature. Historicism, as it is called, completely changed, in the long run, critical methods. It enabled people to realize that the rules that held good for the Classical writers do not necessarily hold good in a later age, and that there were not absolute principles and rules by which literature could be judged (which was Dr. Johnson’s point of view). There was thus a reaction against Neoclassicism, an increasing interest in literatures other than those of Greece and Rome, and a greater variety of opinions about literature, about the language to be used, and about the creative and imaginative faculties and processes of the writer. The new views found expression in Wordsworth’s Preface to the Second Edition of the Lyrical Ballads (1800), Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria (1817), Shelley’s Defense of Poetry (1820) – a reply to Peacock’s ironical debunking in The Four Ages of Poetry (1820) and The Philosophy of Composition (1846), and Matthew Arnold’s Essay in Criticism (1865, 1888). The writings of Walter Pater on culture and art, especially The Renaissance (1873) and Appreciations (1889) had profound influence on critical thinking. By the second half of the 19th c. many different critical theories had begun to proliferate, as is clear from a study of the philosophy of aestheticism, the doctrine of art for art’s sake and the work of the Symbolist poets. There were fewer rules of any kind as more and more writers experimented. At the same time the work of the best critics continued in the tradition and method of Vico. Sainte-Beuve, which his immense range of learning and his keen sense of critical and judicious detachment, was the supreme exponent of historicism. Recent criticism has tended to be more and more closely analytical in the evaluation and interpretation of literature, as is evident in the achievements of major critics like M.ll Abrams and Eric Auerbach.