theoryofliteratu00inwell

1 06 Theory of Literature
cannot become "constitutive" and enter a work of art as effective
parts of its artistic value. One can argue that "social truth," while
not, as such, an artistic value, corroborates such artistic values as
complexity and coherence. But it need not be so. There is great
literature which has little or no social relevance j social literature
is only one kind of literature and is not central in the theory of
literature unless one holds the view that literature is primarily
an "imitation" of life as it is and of social life in particular. But
literature is no substitute for sociology or politics. It has its own
justification and aim.