Various Anglo-Saxon groups migrated to the British Isles and brought with them different dialects that would eventually combine to form a single language. It would evolve to become a sophisticated language, and with it would evolve one of the world’s most important literary canons: English literature.

English Lit 101. Brian Boone. Adams Media.

Questions: What’s a canon?

Why should any other literature not be a canon for itself?

In order to answer my own questions.

I. noun

1. a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged

 •  the appointment violated the canons of fair play and equal opportunity

4. the works of a particular author or artist that are recognized as genuine

• the Shakespeare canon.

5. the list of works considered to be permanently established as being of the highest quality

• Hopkins was firmly established in the canon of English poetry

According Irene Vallejo, in “El infinito en un junco^[1]”, it was something akin a ruler and used to measure lengths in the shape of a stick.

English literature as a canon

It is true I complain whenever I read something Japanese or Korean and in particular Chinese; why their idea of telling a story differs so much from the western idea! Particularly when there is no conflict and the narrative seems to go nowhere. Or when chapters go and go and I’m already bored of a story that grows on clichés. Yet, this last one is more an invention of reader interaction in the form of webnovel.

However, that’s my very personal relationship with such works. I don’t like Shakespeare as an English literature canon. The chap’s work is just one thing I like. Whilst the canon, THE CANON for all Spanish speakers is The Quixote. Indeed I don’t like that book.

I’d prefer by much The Apothecary diaries. A light novel^[2]. Japanese. I haven’t read the ending… 

English literature is not special because it is more special than others. It is just better well known because it came from an empire. And it is easier to find than finding Polish books translated to Spanish or English for the case. Not to say mythologies from Turkiyë.

Thus, I’d edit this part and say “and with it, English literature would evolve”. Would you take foreign literature as a canon for your writing? Pasto kalo.

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^[1] Don’t think there’s an English translation.

^[2] Another thing I should research. What’s a light novel? “The Apothecary diaries” has an average of 150 pages each volume and it rounds the 16 with more coming. That’s 2,400 pages. Why is a light novel that long? For a printed block it is already a brick.