Thankfully, we don’t have to rely on my musings alone for this we can look to others who are for more educated and experienced than I am. My own answer (off the top of my head and completely inadequate) would be “It’s the books we all study in high school and college, the ones that are considered timeless and important.” The problem with my inadequate answer is that it only leads to further questions: “How do you define important?” “WHO defines important?” “How long does a book have to be around to be considered ‘timeless’?” As it turns out, trying to define a classic is like trying to define art-no one can define it, but everyone knows it when they see (or read) it.
The question of “What is the Western canon?” seems like it would have an obvious answer.
This statement got me thinking about “the Western canon”: What is it? What does it include? And what is its relevance and meaning in our culture and academic institutions? I am currently reading a non-fiction book about classic literature “from Homer to Faulkner ” and in the introduction to the book the author states that she will be addressing Western literature as we traditionally know it, without attempting to redress imbalances or redefine the canon.
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