more about the role of place in literature

Geographically speaking, a place is a region or area, location, locale, or site considered with reference to the events that occur there, prevalent conditions, tendencies, ideas, and other influential factors. But in literature, place is far more than that.

In a famous soliloquy in Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet speaks of the undiscovered country from whose bourn no traveler returns. In Shakespeare's day, a bourn was a place, a realm, domain, or bound—a country. Of course, Hamlet is not talking about an actual country; he's referring to the land of the dead. To Shakespeare and his contemporaries, a bourn could be something more than a physical spot of land or a geopolitical entity; it could be an abstraction—a place in the mind—a place of the spirit, such as the realm of the dead.

In a sense, the place where a Literary Period occurs is a place like Hamlet's bourn. It's a collection of authors united by a common conceit—the spirit of a particular nation or region—whose works embody the essential spirit of that place. Fortunately, with respect to literature, place has a far less ominous meaning than it does in Hamlet's soliloquy.

about places and settings

A place is a particular portion of space, or space in general; a time and place.

In part, place is an important, interesting, and useful concept in literature because writers who mentally or physically anchor themselves or their literature to a particular place tend to assimilate, share, or inherit the distinguishing characteristics of that place. Their works tend to influence the works of their contemporaries and of writers in succeeding generations, whether or not they too have anchored themselves to the same place.

Of course, an author who was born in a place may choose not to write about it; he may choose to write about other kinds of places and settings. He could write about a place he wants his characters to live, a place where his friends live, or about no particular place at all. He also might choose to write about places that existed in the past, places he imagines existed in the past or present, or places he imagines will exist in the future.

This tendency of authors to root themselves in a specific place or to write about a specific place can be fruitful or counterproductive. Local circumstances can favor or disfavor the quality or quantity of an author's output; they can influence the topics he selects or the political, moral, or ethical messages he sends.

This tendency also can help produce enlightening insights into the nature and quality of an author's work. Comparisons between specific authors and bodies of literature that are based on place can be especially illuminating. Similarities and differences are likely to produce insights and kinds of insights that depend on whether the places are the same or different from each other.

In literary works, the notion of place cannot be separated from the notion of time. It's not enough for an author to choose where to locate his actions, scenes, and characters; to write about them, he must situate them in a specific time as well as a specific place.

Place is closely related to the notion of literary period, except that place applies to a particular literary work, not to a literary period.

Setting is another important literary concept, one that is related to the idea of place.

A setting is a surrounding or environment. In literature, the term setting refers to the locale and period in which the action of a novel, play, film or other drama takes place. It also refers to the stage setting, the scenery, situational, and other elements of a dramatic performance.

As with place, in literary works the notion of setting cannot be separated from the notion of time. In a setting, action and characters must be depicted as taking place at a particular time; otherwise, actions, characters, and scenery will be inconsistent with each other or might not contribute equally to the performance.

As with place, setting is closely related to the notion of literary period, except that setting applies to a particular work, especially but not exclusively to a dramatization, not to a literary period.

The notions of place and setting are so similar, the two words are almost synonymous. If we think of place as a particular portion of space, setting can be thought of as the surroundings in of that portion of space.

Place and setting are similar to but different from the notion of literary period. A literary period can and does have a place and setting.

must national or regional authors be natives?

What factors mark an author or a body of work as organic to a place? As with many other concepts in the field of literature, the concept of place is not a rigid one. Typically, to be organic with a place, an author's body of work must incorporate its geographical, cultural, and social characteristics and it must be written in the native language. Normally, this means that a national author sets his works in his home territory. He derives his themes from subjects of local interest. He writes within the context of the local political system and social structure. He tends to write about indigenous people. And he writes in the national tongue for an audience consisting of the nation's residents.

From these attributes, it can be seen that authors who are born and raised in the place they write about easily become recognized as a place's national or regional authors. Case in point: Mark Twain. Case in point: William Faulkner.

On the other hand, native-born authors are not automatically national or regional authors. Perhaps the spirit of the place where they are born doesn't move them or isn't their first priority. Even native-born writers who consider themselves national writers do not fit the profile of a national writer every time they write. They deviate from established prescriptions when they find it convenient to do so or when doing so meets their literary purpose. By the same token, some foreign-born authors become paragons of an adopted nation or region not their own.

How, then, does a national or regional author gain his reputation?

Although it greatly helps to be native-born-and-raised, a national or regional author's place of birth or upbringing do not necessarily restrict him; nor must he write in the national or regional tongue. Ayn Rand was born in Russia, lived in America, and wrote in English. Joseph Conrad was born in Poland, lived in England, and wrote in English. Rand is considered an American author and Conrad a British author in every sense.

How far can a national or regional writer stray from the place of upbringing? Sholom Aleichem was born in Russia, lived in America, and wrote in Yiddish. Isaac Bashevis Singer was born in Poland, lived in America, and wrote in Yiddish. Doris Lessing, a true citizen of the world, has written works in several languages about places and people around the world. The first two are considered American authors, even though their writings must be translated into English for most American readers; Lessing is considered British.

Just as there can be a Zeitgeist or spirit of the time that marks the general trend in thought or feeling that is characteristic of a particular period or era, so there can be a zeitgeist that marks the literature of a particular nation, region, and era. Whether or not a place is his homeland, the hallmark of a national or regional author is that he produce a body of work that consistently captures the spirit or essence of his special place. His work must strongly influence national or regional writers of successive generations who are inclined to favor the same place.

what makes an author a citizen?

Land of birth and upbringing are not necessarily the only factors that decide whether an author and his works are creatures of a particular time and place. There are numerous cases in which authors born and raised in one place adopt, absorb, and assimilate the milieu of another country, which they then integrate into their work. theybecome intellectual and spiritual citizens of their adoptive nation, whether or not they formally take up citizenship or residence in their adoptive home. Such writers are full-fledged compatriots of native-born writers and their work may well have equal status and impact.

Surprisingly, because of their natural affinity for their new land, such authors may write like a native and influence native writers. For example, Ayn Rand and Joseph Conrad were born in Russia but lived in American and wrote in English. From reading one of their novels or stories alone, you won't be able to detect that it was written by a "foreigner." there are even rare cases where such writers do not even write in their adopted national tongue. Sholom Aleichem was born in Russia but lived in America and wrote in Yiddish; Isaac Bashevis Singer was born in Poland but lived in America and wrote in Yiddish. The works of both these authors are translated into English for reading by Americans. Doris Lessing is a citizen of the world, sets her novels and stories in several nations and writes like a native in several tongues.

In the process of transferring allegiance to another nation or region, some transmigrating authors spiritually and permanently desert the land of their birth. T.S. Eliot and Joseph Conrad afford us two notable examples. As an adult, Eliot moved to England from America, became a banker, and settled there permanently. Conrad, born and raised in Poland and Russia, joined the French navy at about age 17, joined the British merchant marine at age 19, became a British citizen at age 29, and published his first work of English literature, which of course he wrote in English, at age 41.

about world literature

As commonly denoted by academics and other workers in the field of literature, British and American bodies of literature are eponyms that take their name from the the nations, cultures, regions, or locales of their origin.

On the other hand, World Literature is a generic term denoting a voluminous collection of dissimilar national or regional literary traditions.

When a national or regional body of literature is not of a size comparable to that of British or American literature, most scholars place it into a group with other, smaller literary traditions under the rubric World Literature. In no way does assigning a body of literature to World Literature suggest that it is any less worthy of serious attention than British or American literature.

Within the purview of World literature, the body of literature of each specific literary tradition takes the name of its own nationality or culture. For example, World Literature includes German, French, Spanish, and Norse literature, among many others.

Despite its name, by no means does World Literature include all the literature in the world. It excludes:

• Large bodies of literature from nations like England and America that scholars have assigned a category of their own as a way of coping with their size and complexity.
• Literary works of a unique style or character or works that for other reasons fall into a class by themselves.
• Literary works that are not profitably viewed from a national or regional perspective.
• Small groups of literary works that do not have a critical mass sufficient to be reasonably called a body of work.
• Literary works that do not fit the description of a national or regional literature and therefore are not classified according to place.
• Written works that are not literature. (See The Muse Of Literature's definition of literature: click here.)