Literariness

Literariness is very different from literature. Literature refers to any written work, but specifically prose, poetry and plays. Literariness is a theory used to measure the quality of these works. It is important to recognize this difference.

Literariness meaning

Literariness is a type of formal writing style used to differentiate between literary and non-literary texts. Literariness comes with a distinct style in order to set it apart from other forms of writing. It is a mix of both linguistic and formal devices that use specific criteria to measure a text's quality. There are no direct synonyms for literariness, but words like, 'poetical', 'dramatic' or 'formal', may be used to describe it.

In terms of literary theory, there are three schools of thought:

Roman Jakobson literariness

Roman Jakobson coined the term literariness when he stated that literariness was a characteristic set of textual properties. Jakobson's idea was that literariness is something that is quantifiable. He mainly used rhyme, meter and repetition to show this. Jakobson used this theory to study Russian literature, such as the works of Anton Chekhov and Leo Tolstoy.

Rolf Zwaan literariness

David Miall literariness

David Miall argued that literariness is now an outdated way to view a text. He disagreed with both Jakobson and Zwaan. He says that literariness is created by a specific form of reading, caused by three key components. In the next section of this article, we will look at Miall's three components of literariness, and discuss some examples.

Different components of literariness

According to Miall, there are three key components to literariness:

A distinctive style

The text will be written in a distinctive style associated with literary texts. This will be seen in the use of literary devices like metaphor, personification and simile. These devices are often found in literature, so can be used to measure literariness. Let's consider the poem 'The World is too Much with Us' (1807), by William Wordsworth.

We can see that the poet uses personification and metaphor in this poem. The presence of these devices indicates the text's literary quality.

Defamiliarisation

The second key component used to determine literariness is defamiliarisation. Defamiliarisation is a literary device where the author takes a familiar concept, and then writes about it in a way that is unfamiliar to the reader. When the writer talks about a normal object, it will be presented in an unusual way. This is done through devices like metaphor and personification. The first component (distinctive style) is used to create the second component (defamiliarisation). Let's look at an example of this in an extract from 'The World is too Much With Us' (1807).

'The Sea that bares her bosom to the moon' is used to represent the waves at night. - pixabay

Here, we can see that the writer is talking about something familiar, in an unfamiliar way. In this extract, the poet uses 'This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon' to present the waves at night. He does this through the use of personification. Romantic poets deeply respected nature, and specifically the sea. They talked about nature by using the sublime. Sublime imagery is used to describe emotions that are extraordinary. By using sublimity, Wordsworth defamiliarises the sea so the reader thinks of nature in a new way. The distinctive style outlined in component one is necessary to create defamiliarisation for component two. We can also see that the two components are fundamental for creating literariness in a text.

Transformation of a normal feeling

The final component of literariness is the transformation of a normal feeling. A text that possesses literariness will cause the reader to experience emotion in a new way. The combined effect of the previous two components will cause the reader to process the defamiliarisation that is caused by the unique writing style of a literary text. Reread the extract of 'The World is too Much With Us' below!

We can see that the poet's use of personification and metaphor has created a sense of defamiliarisation in the text. The waves are now defamiliarised to the reader. The reader processes a new feeling that the poet has created towards this object. We can see that the three components are present in the text. Hence, there is literariness to this poem!

Literariness techniques - definitions

Literary terms refer to techniques or devices that are used in a piece of writing that creates literariness. This can include literary devices like figurative speech: metaphors, similes or personification. It can also include devices to do with sounds such as alliteration, rhyme and rhythm. Literary terms are used to create both a distinct style and defamiliarisation, which in turn is used to make the reader engage in a new way. Let's take a look at some literary terms in more detail:

Metaphor

This is a type of figurative language, where one thing is described as though it is another. This is important for creating a sense of defamiliarisation in a text, as it presents a familiar idea or object, as something different! Read this example by Emily Dickinson's 'Hope is the thing with feathers' (1891), to see how a metaphor can create defamiliarisation.

The metaphor in bold has created defamiliarisation. It presents hope as a bird, so the concept becomes defamiliarised and defamiliarising. The reader will now engage with hope in a new way. Dickinson creates literariness here by using the three components.

Personification

This is a form of figurative language where something non-human is given human characteristics. It can be used by writers to defamiliarise the object that is being personified. Let's look at an example of personification in 'The Thought Fox' (1973) and see how it affects the piece's literariness:

Neologism

This is a literary device that can help create defamiliarisation in a text. It occurs when a writer decides to invent a new word or combine two words together to create a new word. It is typically done in order to describe something that has not been described before. This is a practice that was used by William Shakespeare.

For example, Shakespeare created the word 'barefaced'. This was done to describe the act of being caught in a lie. By doing this, the audience engages with an idea in a way that is new and unfamiliar, thus helping to add literariness to the play.

It is important to note that these are only a few examples of literary terms! Remember to always be on the lookout for devices such as rhyme, rhythm, simile, figurative language, onomatopoeia, and more!