Major American Writers

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Major American Writers

The honored title of "Major American Writer" tends to be ambiguous and
ill defined in part because each individual reader holds preconceived notions
about what characteristics a writer should possess to be classified as a major
author. Every work an author creates combines with the others to form a body of
material on which the writer is judged. This class on Major American Writers
studied five authors with completely different genres, writing styles, and
general appeal. The choice for these particular authors was based on criteria
unique to the instructor. Since every reader requires different characteristics,
this paper will outline my specific criteria for a Major American Writer and
apply those to Robert Frost and Henry James. Frost is a perfect example as
defined by my characteristics of a major writer. His work embodies all the
features necessary to categorize him as such. While James's work is well
critiqued and studied, he does not meet my criteria for a major writer. His work
falls short in some of the fundamental requirements. There are four specific
criteria by which I define a Major American Writer. The most important for the
significance of an author is the relevance of the writings to human nature.
Timeless works of literature or poetry connect with the audiences' innermost
emotions. The nature of the world is constant change and if the work of an
author is not able to transcend the change it will be forgotten or obsolete. One
thing constant enough to be the focus of the work is the human condition.
Another criterion for a Major American Writer is that the substance of the work
must also engage the reader. Writing cannot be effective without an audience. If
the author has no impact on people the material written accomplished nothing.
Engagement may come about through the entertainment value or intellectual
interest, neither being of greater importance. Style as well as substance is
necessary when discussing criteria for an author to be a Major American Writer.
The technical aspects of a work, such as narrator and form, are important in a
work because they are ways to distinguish a superb writer from a mediocre
writer. The last criterion for a Major American Writer is the overall impact on
literature. Major authors should have the ability to reshape or redefine
literature or public thought in some manner. Considerations of the author's
contributions to the genre as well as the world of literature are consequential
when ...

The complete article is about 1258 words and 5.03 pages long.

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