"The Rise of English" by Terry Eagleton
Terry Eagleton’s essay can be summarized by one of his first sentences that states that “Literature, in the meaning of the word we have inherited, is an ideology” (49). He goes on to say that through the downfall of religion, especially in the Victorian era, literature has excelled, and that the point of literature itself is to “convey timeless truths, thus distracting the masses from their immediate commitments” (51). In this essay, Eagleton also argues for the case of studying “English” as we know it, and why one must read to be a better person, no matter what race, gender, or class.
Mar,
ReplyDeleteThis is a good summary which neatly covers the main points of Eagleton's essay. I am impressed that you were able to include actual quotes from the piece, too! The only suggestion I might make is that the phrase "study English as we know it" is quite vague and I'm not sure it really gets your point across. You may consider removing a quote and rewording it in fewer words so that you can elaborate on this last point.
Nice work!
Abby
Dear Abby (ha!),
ReplyDeleteI see how it is slightly vague, but in the essay itself I remember him talking about studying "English" as a separate entity from just plain English and was also quite vague. If I were to go over this again I would try to explain that more in his words though. Thank you for the suggestion!
~Mar