Practice question · Multiple choice
Jakobson defines the object of literary study as literariness rather than literature itself. Why does this shift matter for how a theorist handles non-canonical texts?
Hints
- Does literariness depend on a text's place on a library shelf or on its linguistic operations?
- How does focusing on a general property alter the criteria for what can be analysed?
Show the answer
D. It directs analysis to how language functions rather than which texts hold cultural prestige.
Why
Confusing the formal mechanisms of language with prestige or authorial intention misses Jakobson's structural focus. Shifting the object from 'literature' to 'literariness' means any text exhibiting functional deviation qualifies for study regardless of status.
Practise Literariness
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