literary merit
Writing's aesthetic value
Literary merit is the quality that makes a written work valuable as literature—artistry of language, depth of meaning, originality, and lasting significance.
Critics and educators invoke it when distinguishing serious fiction from popular entertainment: The novel has undeniable literary merit.
The concept is contested; what counts as merit often reflects the tastes and biases of those doing the judging.
A work's literary merit may determine whether it's taught in schools, wins awards, or survives its era.
- artistryExceptional creative skill
- craftsmanshipSkill in making objects
- proseUnversified language
- eloquencePersuasive verbal grace
- canonicalAccepted as standard
masterpiece · timeless · profound · aesthetic · high art · style · depth · substance · brilliance · nuance · classic · enduring · refined · polished · excellence · gravitas · luminous · evocative
- literary analysischaracter analysis, book review, plot, critical analysis, analysis
- Literary Tastegenre fiction, canonical works
- literary debatesfeminist critique, critical theory, deconstruction, postmodernism, formalism
- book reviewsbook review, critique, book ratings, critical analysis, critiques
- Literary AwardsPulitzer Prize, Nobel Prize, Booker Prize, Newbery Medal, Caldecott Medal
literary meritschlock
Low-quality merchandise
hackwork · mediocrity · dreck · pulp · trash
literary meritmarketability
Ease of selling something
mass appeal · commercial success · commercial value · profit motive · readability
literary meritpulp fiction
Sensational cheap literature
guilty pleasure · beach read · airport novels · airport novel · guilty pleasures
literary, merit, literature, literal, literally, literate, illiterate, literacy, illiteracy