The Literary Canon as an Ideological Construction             1900w

In the twenty-first century, what we both formally and informally assume is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ literature is often, and conveniently assumed to be what is either canonized or non-canonized respectively. The literary canon refers to a highly valued body of literature, thought of as being the most influential and important of a specific era or place. Canons provide the measure of what is considered valuable in a field; they are often perceived as having moral and ethical force and so are used for instruction and in this way provides us with a ‘standard’ to which we evaluate new and old literature alike. However, it is not always clear what characteristics we ascribe to canonised texts and what we gauge to be important or not. Herein lies the conflict between those who support the literary canon as it currently formulated and those who believe it represents nothing but an ideological construction that undermines liberal values and protects conservative hegemony. Within this essay I will evaluate the literary canon in light of these two theories and conclude that while the concept of a canonised body of literature is important, it appears to need redefining as it purports a conservative ideological hegemony. I will discuss ways in which critical approaches have challenged the notions of value and taste, and with it the notion of the canon while also providing important historical and sociological contexts that will help place the discussion within a framework surrounding the concept of the literary canon as well as the core principles that underlie the questions of genuine objectivity, aesthetic value and taste.

Before we begin to assess the arguments for or against the literary canon as an ideological construction it is important to really define what we mean by the term. Within this essay, the term ‘literary canon’ will refer to predominantly western canonical tradition and literature (poems, novels, etc.) that are often considered to be part of this tradition. The American Heritage Dictionary defines the literary canon as “an authoritative list, as of the works of an author” and “a basis for judgment; a standard; or criterion”, and as such it invokes a certain prestige and accessibility to public consumption (AHD). Authors who have such status include William Shakespeare, John Milton, Walt Whitman and William Wordsworth. The central debate here regarding the canon concerns the overwhelming position held by white male and bourgeois authors in comparison with women, non-white, and working-class authors of the ‘same’ talent. Central philosophers and literary critics who argue that the cannon need not be revised might disagree with this use of ‘same’ and maintain the works present in the literary