Stephen Greenblatt Culture Analysis

In the essay Culture by Stephen Greenblatt it covers three important ideas. The constraints of culture on society, how literature enforces cultural boundaries, and how symbolism taken from culture affects literature. On page one the author begins the essay by explaining in the broadest way possible the definition of culture. This is the most important part of the essay because it sets the tone and gives us a general understanding of the main idea which is culture. Culture is the guidelines in which certain areas of society live by. Culture is different for everybody and this amount of diversity can sometimes cause rifts between people. For example on page one the author state “The limits need not be narrow-- in certain societies, such of that of the United States, they can seem quite vast—but they are not infinite, and the consequences for straying beyond them can be severe.” This quote is talking about how even though culture can be broad and some believe it isn’t a part of everyday life, it plays a major role is shaping peoples actions. People …show more content…
Literature especially in Western culture has been the most effective way to “enforce cultural boundaries” (2) by using the technique of praise and blame. Authors who write using the praise and blame technique are able to instill a sense of depth such as the feelings of pleasure and pain in their audience using their understanding of a certain culture. The author states on page two “ An awareness of culture as a complex whole can help us to recover that sense by leading us to reconstruct who’s existence the works were predicated.” This quote is talking about the pleasure in pain sense, meaning that an understanding of culture in literature can help us have a better understanding of the situation the author is trying to describe for us. By understanding culture you are able to understand the connections to culture that the author is

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Stephen Greenblatt Culture Analysis

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