Major Literary Themes: Love, The Journey, and Rhetoric

Love in Literature: Definitions

Love is an intense feeling of a human being who, from their own inadequacy, needs and seeks contact and union with another being. It also refers to feelings of affection, inclination, and commitment to someone or something.

Love: A Constant Theme in Literature

Love is also a motivation for artists, an issue that never goes out of fashion, transcending all eras and genres.

Manifestations of Love in Literature

• Sensual and Earthly Love: Love that is reflected in desire and manifested physically (e.g., Don Juan).
• Idealized Love: Love that exalts the object of affection (e.g., Don Quixote).
• Mystic Love: Love aimed at God.

Other Classifications of Love

Love can be classified further:

• Unrequited
• Impossible
• Transitional
• Eternal
• Tragical
• Of Salvation
• Subsidiary, etc.

Eternal Love: Beyond Death

Tragical Love

Love that ends with the death of one or both lovers (e.g., Romeo and Juliet).

The Great Themes of Western Literature

The major themes include: Love, Revenge, Anger, Death, and The Journey.

Defining the Literary Journey (Trip)

A journey is defined as a transfer made from one place to another by air, sea, or land.

Characteristics of Literary Travel

• It is a search.
• It can be real or imaginary.
• It unites historical and fictional elements.
• It describes new details.
• It is often experienced in the first person.

Types of Literary Journeys

The Journey to the Underworld (Hell):

The hero traverses a world inhabited by the dead, seeking knowledge and overcoming personal fears (e.g., The Odyssey).

Inner Journey:

The hero searches for self-knowledge, which permits spiritual growth (e.g., The Prince).

Physical Journey:

The hero travels through specific locations, whether terrestrial or extraterrestrial (e.g., Lord of the Rings).

Social or Moral Journey:

The hero traverses society, showcasing different types of constituent characters (e.g., Son of a Thief).

Reasons for the Journey

• The search for happiness.
• The search for a parent.
• The pursuit of an impossible ideal.
• The search for truth.

Arguments and Rhetoric

What is an Argument?

An argument is the act of giving reasons to defend or attack an opinion or thesis, aiming to persuade someone about something. The argument is oriented towards the receiver; therefore, the predominant function of language is appeals (conative function).

Arguments are presented in various situations, both public (such as an editorial in a daily newspaper) and private (such as a disagreement between a couple).

Facts (Indisputable Data)

Facts are situations that occur in concrete ways, can be tested, and are therefore indisputable.

Opinion

An opinion is what you think about an event—a subjective point of view about something.