Deterioration of English Literature

Well, I'm not saying that English Literature is deteriorating. But when you think about it, books of today have lost a sense of structure that gave english an artistic feel. When you compare the classics from the popular books of today, anyone can tell the obvious difference. I personally love the classics. Scott Fitzgerald, Margaret Atwood, Louisa May Alcott, Charles Dickes, Jane Austen, John Steinbeck, these are the people whose literature we are supposed to study in school. I must admit that I am not a big reader, but I couldn't help but notice how different the writing style is from these authors to the authors of today. I dislike today's authors, starting from J.K. Rowling. After reading Little Woman, I was forced to read Harry Potter, and I disliked J.K. Rowling's writing style. Not because it was too casual, but because it lacked a poetic and artistic feel. I believe that literature is art, yet the literature of today have declined in artistic quality. It has been more about the story as opposed to the structure and the story combined.

The book that totally made not want to read any more modern literature is Stephanie Meyers' Twilight. Don't take me wrong, I liked the basic story line, and I like how cute their relationship was. But it was hard to see the artistic quality in the structure of the book. What happened to the metaphors, similes, alliteration, and the rest that could make any be hightened.

Please give your opinions " title=" (Smile)" height="15" width="15">

No, I wouldn't say that English literature is deteriorating. There's just a ton more of it to choose from--anyone with a decent sized wallet can publish their novel.

Moreover, I think bw2/3 is correct when he points to the changing desires of the book-reading audience. I might agree that popular literature is deteriotating. Fast-paced plots with cute love stories tend to become best-sellers (and then movies) whereas literary fiction with metaphors, similies, stylistic innovations, and deep meaning often sit on the shelf like unwanted treasures. But they're out there. I sometimes volunteer for the Image journal, which publishes all kinds of good stuff.

If you're looking for good contemporary authors, I'd recommend David James Duncan and Cormac McCarthy.


-Andrew

Anonymous wrote:

are you sure that english literature cant deteriorate?

Can you tell us in history which period that English got deteriorated? I don't think it is now.