Aug 2, 2019
The literary work itself comes to be seen as a mysterious organic unity, in contrast to the fragmented individualism of the capitalist marketplace: it is ‘spontaneous’ rather than rationally calculated, creative rather than mechanical. The word ‘poetry’, then, no longer refers simply to a technical mode of writing: it has deep social, political and philosophical implications, and at the sound of it the ruling class might literally reach for its gun.
Terry Eagleton, Literary Theory: An Introduction
#daphne.docx#literary theory: an introduction#terry eagleton#lit theory#on poetry#*bookshelf#I really like this quote lol#literature as an abyssal incomprehensible mass#which defies definition (argued in the first chapter of the book) thus#can't fully be contained within the capitalist machine#ofc it can be commodified (which is also talked about)#but ultimate literature is a very political practise#whether it's creative or analytical there's something very independent yet#still interdependent#like anybody can write a book (and do so for profit) but not everyone can write literature in a sense#because imo true literature (which doesn't limit itself to like creative or factual limitation#nor a perceived level of skill bc ultimately art is subjective)#is birthed solely from passion and shared due to passion#even if that passion results in financial worth it's an unavoidable part of capitalism but#the root is the same#idk it's late and I can hardly structure my thoughts
