Talk:English literature/Definition

This definition doesn't fit my idea of what English literature is. I'd not consider writings in Latin or French by English people as English literature. Contrariwise, I think writings in English by non-English people are included. Peter Jackson (talk) 10:19, 30 January 2016 (UTC)

Difficult. Eng Lit can refer to literature written in English by the inhabitants of England, or, more commonly by the inhabitants of the British Isles, though even that excludes the writings of Irishmen living in Paris commonly included in the term. There are people writing in English all over the world, but they would nowadays be thought of as contributing to the literature of their own country. One can find fault with almost any short definition, and a long one rather defeats the object of having a definition. I am not sure that English literature is a useful concept, though I suppose that people will continue to write histories of it, using their own boundaries. --Martin Wyatt (talk) 13:25, 30 January 2016 (UTC)

The new definition seems worse in some ways. It now includes literature written not only in Latin and French but also in Welsh, Gaelic, Cornish and Manx. Peter Jackson (talk) 15:12, 15 February 2016 (UTC)

Well, it wasn't any worse, but I agree it was no better. I've had another go. --Martin Wyatt (talk) 15:49, 15 February 2016 (UTC)