In my last post, I discussed how a series like Twilight can be considered literature. Basically, it boils down to this: what makes a book worthy of being called “literature” is a matter of opinion. In my opinion, any work of fiction that is meaningful can be called literature. So if Twilight can be considered meaningful, it’s literature.
So, one question remains: is the Twilight series meaningful or significant in any way?
If it is, then it makes sense that we should examine it from a literary perspective. Sure, Twilight was written primarily for entertainment, first for the author herself and now for millions of readers worldwide. But just because something is entertaining doesn’t make it worthless.
After all, Shakespeare’s plays were once considered mindless entertainment for the masses, back in the day. Today, we realize that they also contain significant insight into human nature, so we study them in English class. So, just because Twilight is an entertaining series doesn’t mean that it can’t be studied as literature.
Of course, most people would argue that Twilight is no Shakespeare play. And while they may be right about that, I would argue that this doesn’t make it meaningless. Twilight may not be Shakespeare, but it can have its own kind of meaning.
But wait a second, they say! Isn’t Twilight just a mindless romantic fantasy? Isn’t the only point of reading Twilight to insert yourself in Bella’s place and pretend that the ever-charming and impossibly perfect Edward is courting you instead of her? Isn’t Twilight just pointless teenage fluff, like High School Musical and Hannah Montana and all those other Disney shows?
Well, no, actually. Of course, every book is what you make of it, and plenty of girls like to read it as a way of escaping into a fantasy world. But that’s not all there is to it. And that’s why this site exists.
While I was reading the Twilight series, I realized that it contained its own insights into human nature, especially that of teenagers. Bella’s romance with Edward is a classic example of young love, the kind that becomes so passionate that it can consume a person’s entire life. (As it happens, that also reminded both Stephenie Meyer and myself of a certain famous work of literature written by a certain famous playwright…)
But there’s more to Twilight than just romance. Sure, on the surface, Twilight is just about an ordinary human girl who falls in love with a vampire.
But if you look a little closer, there are plenty of other issues to explore in this series. These books raise significant questions about death and immortality, not to mention the moral issues that are represented by the Cullens and their radical lifestyle, as vampires who refuse to drink human blood. But these are all topics for another post.
When it comes down to it, I believe there are two key reasons why Twilight is a significant book series. Prepare yourself, because they’re not the reasons that an average literature professor would use. (You’ve been warned!)
Reason #1: Twilight is significant because it’s so incredibly popular.
Now, I’m not the type to like something just because it’s popular. But when you study literature, you learn to appreciate works that were popular in their own time. That’s because these are the works that both represent and influence the culture in which they were written.
It makes sense, when you think about it. There must be a reason why certain books become popular, while others don’t. But why does the romance between Edward and Bella resonate so powerfully with women today? Aren’t we supposed to be a cynical generation, one which has outgrown all those unrealistic ideas about the kind of picture-perfect, head-over-heels romance represented in these books?
Or is there some other reason why they’re so popular? Personally, I believe there is, and I will be exploring that in future posts.
Still, whatever the reason, Twilight is part of our culture today. Everyone’s heard of it, and there’s no escaping that fact. Like it or not, Twilight has affected millions of people, and I think it’s worth exploring for that fact alone. If nothing else, the fact that so many people have fallen in love with it says something about our culture, something worthy of literary study.
But there’s a second reason why Twilight is significant, and this one might surprise you.
Reason #2: Twilight is part of a very important and enduring literary tradition.
Here is where I reveal the real reason why I wanted to make a blog about Twilight. This is one of those things that makes all my most sophisticated literary friends roll their eyes, but it’s unavoidable, so let’s get this over with…
Illustration from Carmilla. +100 vampire nerd points!
I’m an enthusiastic fan of vampire fiction. Yes, vampire fiction. My area of expertise in literature is the early 19th century, which just so happens to be the period in which vampire fiction first appeared in the English language. (To be fair, I chose this period as my favorite before I knew that… But it was definitely an added bonus.)
Because of this, I’ve done a fair amount of studying on the subject of vampire fiction. I also have some experience with the literary criticism that’s been written about it. (Literary criticism: books that are written about other books. Because we literature students have nothing else to do with our lives.)
And it is this experience which has convinced me that vampire fiction is an important part of the literary tradition. I’ll talk more about this in other posts, but for now, I will say this…
Ever since vampires first appeared in fiction, the English-speaking world has become obsessed with them. The first works of vampire fiction in English were actually poems, written in the latter half of the 1700’s. By the middle of the 1800’s, vampires were a pop culture sensation. (Sound familiar?) There were even dozens of plays written about these blood-sucking monsters. And this was all before 1897, when the ever-famous Dracula was published!
Of course, that trend has never really died. (Unlike other critics, I’ll try to resist the urge to make lots of puns about the “undead.”) After the creation of film, vampires became one of the most popular subjects in a very popular genre: horror films. If you’re ever feeling bored, do some research on how many different movies about vampires exist. The results will shock you. (At least, they shocked me, anyway. There are hundreds of them. Literally.)
And that isn’t even mentioning “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and Anne Rice’s books, two well-known examples of how our parents and older siblings became obsessed with these monsters. Clearly, there is something about the vampire that makes it an enduring myth in our culture, something that both haunts and intrigues us.
Well, I could talk forever about why the study of vampire fiction is so interesting, but the point is that Twilight is yet another part of this important genre. Of course, many vampire fanatics like to protest that Twilight isn’t “real” vampire fiction. That’s a complicated topic that I’ll discuss later on.
But whether Twilight is radically different from other vampire fiction or not, it’s still part of that tradition. And if it is radically different, that makes it all the more significant. After all, if it’s so different from other vampire fiction, then why is it still so popular? This is an intriguing question, and that’s why I decided to make this web site.
In my opinion, Twilight is a unique part of a very important literary tradition, one that’s worth studying in detail. This is why I believe Twilight should be examined as literature, as part of an enduring trend in fiction that has captivated the hearts and minds of millions.
And that’s why this site exists, to show why Twilight is an interesting example of vampire fiction, one that is more than it appears to be at first sight.
This concludes my two-part discussion on Twilight as literature. To anyone who’s managed to read all the way to the end, well done! I realize it was a lot to read, on a subject that’s not nearly as interesting as the books themselves.
Now that the basics are out of the way, it’s on to the more interesting stuff. Next time: Vampires! I’ll discuss why the vampire is so intriguing to us mere mortals, and how this relates to Twilight. (Don’t worry, I’ll talk more about Edward next time. A lot more.)
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