Key Literary Concepts: Function, Fiction, Canon, Genre

Poetic Function in Literature

The Poetic Function refers to the particular construction of the message within literary discourse, distinguishing it from other forms. As Mario Vargas Llosa states, "if words had no more than one sense, the dictionary, where a second language did not come to disturb and release the certainties of language, there would be no literature." Thus, language becomes the main character through a careful selection and combination of words that the author uses to convey a precise meaning.

Fact and Fiction in Literary Texts

The purpose of literary texts is to represent, through words, a perception of a possible and peculiar world. In this sense, fiction—literature itself—corresponds to an image of reality that a particular historical period proposes to define the ideal, highlight societal issues, or address the decadence of moral principles that need modification. As an artistic endeavor, literature transforms and fictionalizes reality. Literary characters and objects, while they may resemble existing ones, are never identical. Unlike in theater, where objects and characters are physically presented, in literature, their reality is purely textual.

Understanding the Literary Canon

The Literary Canon is a set of patterns that vary over time, defining what is considered artistic or significant writing. Works not included within this set become part of what is called "marginal literature" because they fall outside or beyond the accepted guidelines.

Defining Literary Genre

A Literary Genre can be defined when a relatively stable scheme or set of related traits, in terms of theme, tone, and formal mold, is presented across a series of works. This makes these patterns a prestigious and replicable method.

Requirements for a New Literary Genre:

• Innovative ideas from an author proposing a different formal approach to surrounding realities.
• The author's deliberate creation of an original structure in terms of form and theme.
• The work's appropriateness to the social contexts that gave rise to it.
• The imitation of formal procedures and thematic innovations by other authors.
• The recognition of the model's formal features.