On Some Forms of Literature

Arthur Schopenhauer
12 pages (2007/1851); 134KB download
WOWIO Books; ISBN: WOWIO-00349

DESCRIPTION

In this essay, German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer discusses several forms of literature, the stages of presenting a subject, and the corresponding variety in the design and scope of a piece. He notes: "The business of the novelist is not to relate great events, but to make small ones interesting."

Schopenhauer also considers history, which "does not deal with universal truths, but only with particular details." Capturing history has value: "Human life is short and fleeting, and many millions of individuals share in it, who are swallowed by that monster of oblivion which is waiting for them with ever-open jaws. It is thus a very thankworthy task to try to rescue something--the memory of interesting and important events, or the leading features and personages of some epoch--from the general shipwreck of the world." In reporting history, newspaper journalists exaggerate utilizing leading articles to "make events go as far as possible"--the newspaper "is the second-hand in the clock of history."

Further, what an author needs to gain immortality is to master the use of metaphors and similes.

Schopenhauer also notes the need to reread certain books to gain their full benefit. Moreover: "If a man wants to read good books, he must make a point of avoiding bad ones; for life is short, and time and energy limited."