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In literature studies, "important" usually means how many other works have been influenced by a work.
by goto11 8y ago
In literature studies, "important" usually means how many other works have been influenced by a work.
- mikorym 8y agoProbably true, but this also means that you need to find the source. And this is where debate occurs. In this same way Enrique Iglesias would be called "extremely important" by naive musical literaries, Bloodhound Gang would be called "extremely important" by competent scholars; and finally, Pet Shop boys would casually be mentioned as "influential" by Yoda-level master scholars.
- arethuza 8y agoExactly, His Dark Materials is mentioned in the article and is hugely popular.
- azangru 8y agoI wonder why they don't use the word "influential" then, if that's what they mean. To me, the word important has a distinct prescriptive ring to it. As in "this book is important, therefore you should go read it". The word imfluential is more descriptive and does not have such connotations.
- goto11 8y agoThat is what the word means. Important: 1.2 (of an artist or artistic work) significantly original and influential. https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/important https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/important