logos definition english literature

logos definition english literature

The Significance of Logos in English Literature

1. Introduction to Logos in Literature

The study of logos in English literature used as a criterion of analysis and justification the aesthetic and other terms of the variety of formal processes that determine absolutely and firmly the complex sign “Poetry”, enriching it with a particular set of fundamental components or a series of communicative functions that value its semantic exchanges as possibilities for a complex extension of the different literary founding symbolic tracks that can lead again from the surface realization of discourse to the homogeneous abstract formation from which the derivation of the text is formally articulated. The rise of bilingual dictionaries means that between two closely related words the continuity of meaning is not mechanically assumed and is subject to the full range of a complex semantic variation. These thematic flanks have always represented notable front lines: in the indomitable expanse of the homogeneity of the American language, logos and literature extend union step further along the endemic duality of the theme line in the other Western cultural settlements according to the model of the Inalienable Twisting which belongs to the long history of the culture of Europe.

The word logos came to have a more theological significance beginning with the writings of Heraclitus (c. 537 – c. 470 BCE) who used the term for God. It is also a concept in Greek philosophy, being a word which was required to both true and false statements, and it carries within itself an inner law. Logos is a compound word which means study reasoning. In fact, Greek philosophers are considered the founders of this discipline, and logos gave the Greeks a kind of certainty that the truths proposed by the Greeks were based on it. These founders were famous for bringing together students who discussed the facts logically and sequentially evaluating them. But then Logos was reinterpreted with the Jewish philosopher Philo Alexandrinus (30 BCE – 50 CE) and in the Gospel of John, coming to the present day accompanied by other theological expressions.

2. Historical Evolution and Theoretical Frameworks

In logic, the connecting concepts of contradictory, the law of excluded middle and the law of non-contradiction enabled ancient Greek philosophers to write propositions with full precision and in forms as abstract as the ones we see today. In rhetoric, the ideas of commonplaces such as phenomenon, definition, genus, division, relationship, antinomy, contradiction, reversal, analogue, change of kind, degree and relevance and appealing submodalities are developed. The persuasive power of logos was associated with symbolic signs these concepts generate and for some writers knowledge or the of-use knowledge seemed to be a function of their being common. With the above contributions and from the perspective of logos, a logical-rhetorical approach to narratology arises. If this logical-rhetorical approach to narratology could be broadly applied to the study of literature, it would have certain research implications for the world of literary studies.

The term “logos” has been employed in English literature to represent a variety of concepts. Depending on specific time, occasions when it is put and who uses it, it can have different meanings as diverse as these of plan, forethought, the Creator, that which directs the behavior of man and the tools which aid a man in realizing a job as planned. The connotative nuances of the term gradually expanded to include meanings linked to incredibly abstract ideas of wisdom or knowledge and to many classical metaphysical doctrines. With Plato and Aristotle and through their explanations, the term’s scope and characteristics were developed, and the ethos, pathos triangle linking logos with the ethical disposition and experience were discussed thoroughly. The ethos, pathos, logos triangle is now a staple in narratology.

3. Logos in Different Literary Genres

Poetry, the most natural form of expression, becomes a means of spreading news and developing understanding among persons. Thus, in ancient times when people were lower in intellect and ability, there were many more poets and learned scholarly individuals. It was difficult to speak to the people about the facts of their physical world. Since the poets already have the ability to influence what people would say or not say, certify or not certify, poets often became kings, if they were not the rulers, and created doctrines conducive to the eternal existence of their wisdom, through poetry and great oratorial skills.

The logos that is portrayed qualitatively is often found in poetry, whereas the logos that forms the material of prose is a representation of the facts of physical nature, persons, properties, and objectives. Logos also comes in many degrees of development, and different types of literary expressions correspond to different stages of the development of logos. Poetry is the most direct form of expression or logos, as it deals less with matter and more vigorously with manner. In addition, through the power of emotional language, affecting men and women to discussion and speculation, the poet’s emotions or feelings become effective weapons of dialectics and critics, compelling men and women to think and imagine what to do and say.

4. Impact of Logos on English Literature

Moreover, not only life, but the possibility of physical surviving—which comprised the safeguarding of the potentiality of glorification—obliged the Anglo-Saxons to follow the close ties with the rule, which daily experience had confirmed. Is the hero whom, in the epic flourishes of Beowulf, attributes of an imperishable nature? The term, in the present-day philosophical language, is difficult enough, maybe impossible. But in Anglo-Saxon society it was excellent that the hero symbolized the ideas of the gift of the heart, and himself became the immune bronzed shield of his people. The increment of the generic horizon that withdraws in the ocean of warrior mortality is a principle that marks, on average, every contribution to the construction of a hero of the Anglo-Saxon artists.

The significance of logos in the Anglo-Saxon poems cannot, it is true, be misplaced. They invest their subject with the grandeur of the heroic; a splendour which, in philosophic interpretation of life, could be otherwise justified. Heroes and gods offer themselves as models to humanity. We sometimes forget, fascinated by the heroic deeds and strong passions of this race, that, even in their regard, those very actions or wordings were sometimes implored to their beliefs about man and the universe. Their constant boasting about their ancestors and about their own fortitude and martial promise would be laughable if these people did not understand themselves, and if their principles were unjustifiable. About the last point there is no clarity. Certainly a religion so unscrupulous, that could justify any action of the most starkly premeditating impudence to their own advantage, differentiates the warriors, bringing them beyond good and evil in the sense of Nietzsche.

5. Conclusion and Future Implications

There are many other instances where carrying out research analyzing the significance of Logos in different text types seems worthwhile. These issues can be pursued by a combination of scholarship based on Logos theory and empirical text research by using material from corpus or database data. Such research is also addressed to all interested in text studies, as the interdisciplinary application of audience viewpoint, also incorporating empirical verification techniques, is what makes the approach potentially such a valuable contribution. This study provides a qualitative analysis of Logos within an English Renaissance drama text, Acolastus. The present chapter provides a close analysis of such a text to show that innovation in rhetorical analytics can yield new insights into properties of other works of Renaissance literature beyond explaining the composition and value of one of the Renaissance’s most significant contributions to education, drama. The work complements already existing analytical studies. First, after the brief introduction of the Logos theory, which associates the concept of logos with dramaturgy, the introduction succinctly narrates the settings and background of the drama. Second, the background chapter sets the theoretical foundation. Third, it examines the text in detail. Finally, a conclusion is drawn.

To sum up, the concept of Logos has a long and rich history. It continues to play an important role in Christianity and has influenced the fields of rhetoric, philosophy, and literature. In consideration of all these, I believe that Logos should be seriously implemented and researched as a significant category in the field of the study of English literature. For example, are Shakespeare’s countenances only an empty mask? Does George Eliot’s kind of women bear a kind of Logos, and what does that imply? Can the universe press for Christian lower-middle-class moral Logos on Shelley, Keats, and Byron? Can “I” in the lyrics be an indication of the study of poets’ Logos versus self-expression? Furthermore, some future possible experimental researches about Logos can be posed. Furthermore, does the application of Logos to discourse topics change the quality? How “constructed” should a text be to parallel the Logos construction of a text speaker?