Placing Octet in The Literary Canon: Tyler Robertson
Placing Octet in The Literary Canon: Tyler Robertson
Placing Octet in The Literary Canon: Tyler Robertson
Tyler Robertson
I. Defining Literary Merit
The tradition of literary criticism has produced over the years numerous definitions of
what constitutes literary merit. A conventional definition of the term sets several requirements
for a work to have literary merit: that it must be entertaining and interesting, is unique and
innovative, has stood the test of time, demonstrates thematic depth, has been judged to have
artistic quality, and has universal appeal. While all of these may be indicative of a quality literary
work, the only aspects that truly define literary merit is that the work has thematic depth, and that
it stands out in some way.
Many of the criteria set by the conventional definition of literary merit are unnecessary
and exclude works from the literary canon that should be included. The idea that a work of
literary merit must have stood the test of time in some way places an age requirement on
canonical literature. Media from the past 20 years may still be innovative and thematically rich,
and its literary merit should not be ignored simply because of its publication date. It’s difficult to
argue that a recent work has stood the test of time, since it has not had the time to do so, but that
argument should not have to be made. Universal appeal, in addition to being a somewhat
nebulous idea, is also not required for a work to have literary merit. There are works that have
complex themes, but which are unique to a particular experience or set of experiences, and these
works should be recognized as having literary merit.
Several of the requirements that the standard definition of literary merit sets are
unnecessary because they are too subjective. One would be hard-pressed to find a novel, play, or
any other piece of media that entertains everyone, and yet part of the traditional definition of
literary merit is that the work is entertaining. There are novels and other works that are
considered canonical literature which many people don’t enjoy; for example, Les Misérables is
considered a great novel, with literary merit, but its length and Victor Hugo’s frequent
digressions mean it doesn’t always hold a reader’s interest. Artistic quality is also a far too
subjective standard to judge literary merit by. For one thing, who is the literary community
evaluating “artistic quality”? Additionally, the literary community and their judgements are
inconsistent not only across however the literary community is defined, but also over time. Some
works that are now considered to have literary merit have been judged less positively by the
literary community at other points in time. Moby-Dick is widely accepted to be part of the canon
and is now considered to be one of the great American novels; however, criticism at the time of
publication was mixed and it sold less than 4,000 copies within author Herman Melville’s
lifetime. Entertainment value and critical and/or commercial reception are far too subjective and
vague to be used in a definition of literary merit.
There are two criteria that should be used in judging literary merit: thematic depth and
innovation. One common thread across all of the works in the literary canon is that they all raise
big questions or make significant statements about an aspect of human experience. In a work of
merit, these big ideas are not simply brought up, but are explored in a complex way. The other
element important to canonical literature is innovation. In defining literary merit, innovation can
constitute a number of things. One way a work may be innovative is if it frames our
understanding of an era or place in a significant way. The Great Gatsby, for example, is a novel
about the intangibility of the “American Dream”, but it is also significant in how it defines
contemporary views of 1920s America. A work can also be innovative if it brings forward a new
perspective that is underrepresented in the literary canon, like works that center the experiences
of women or people of color. A piece of media with merit might also be stylistically innovative
and present its characters and/or narrative in a unique way, or overall have a style or structure
that stands out. A work of literary merit should demonstrate innovation in one of these ways, as
well has having nuanced and significant themes. With this new definition of literary merit, media
that was previously not considered to be part of the canon, specifically Dave Malloy’s Octet, can
be evaluated.