The Canon - A Wider Look

The Literary Canon is the name given to the traditional body of works that make up Western Literature. Names such as Dickens, Shakespeare and Chaucer are a seminal part of the canon.

In your studies it is important that you become aware of what the canon is, why it is controversial and how to critique it as literature and language students. Here are some links you might find useful as a starting point.

http://www.enotes.com/twentieth-century-criticism/revising-literary-canon

http://www.suite101.com/content/literary-canon-a211378

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_canon