A critical study of the literary values contained in homiletic writing demands at the outset a careful consideration of what differentiates literature from mere language. Following a line of distinction made by Professor Albert Guerard of Stanford, literature may be defined from two points of view: technique and intention.
A more exalted concept is furnished by the philosophy of James Russell Lowell, as it has been paraphrased by Norman Foerster: “Literature is the ideal representation of human nature…”
Recognizing the fact that literature involves “overtones of the soul” (Guerard), or “spiritual imagination” (Foerster), we are forced to depart from the realm of mere word-counting and consider taste and a sense of values. The subjective element enters in, and we must raise the question: Whose taste and what values shall decide what constitutes literature? It is to answer these questions that the critic exists.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:pacific.edu/oai:scholarlycommons.pacific.edu:uop_etds-2118 |
| Date | 01 January 1950 |
| Creators | Richardson, Winthrop H. |
| Publisher | Scholarly Commons |
| Source Sets | University of the Pacific |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Source | University of the Pacific Theses and Dissertations |
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