Learn what the literary canon is, why it matters, and why people debate which books belong on this famous list of great literature.
Introduction: A List That Shapes What We Read
Have you ever wondered why some books are taught in schools all over the world? Why do teachers always talk about books like Romeo and Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, or The Great Gatsby? Why do some books feel like everyone has read them, while other great books sit quietly on shelves and no one talks about them?
The answer has to do with something called the canon of literature.
The word "canon" might sound fancy. But it really just means a list. It is a list of books and writings that a lot of people agree are very important. These are the books that teachers teach, that schools include in their lessons, and that writers and readers look up to.
But here is the thing. Not everyone agrees on what should be on that list. And that is why people have been arguing about the literary canon for a very long time.
In this article, we are going to talk about what the canon of literature is, where it came from, why some books make it onto the list and others do not, and why so many people disagree about it.
Let's start from the beginning.
What Does "Canon" Mean?
The word "canon" comes from an old Greek word that means "rule" or "standard." A long time ago, the word was used in churches to talk about which religious writings were official and which were not.
Over time, people started using the same word to talk about literature. The literary canon became the group of books and writings that experts, schools, and readers decided were the most important, the most meaningful, and the best examples of great writing.
Think of it like a hall of fame. Just like there is a hall of fame for baseball players or rock musicians, the literary canon is like a hall of fame for books and writers.
When a book is part of the canon, it usually means:
- It is taught in schools and universities
- It is written about by scholars and critics
- It has had a big influence on other writers and books
- It is seen as a great example of excellent writing
- It deals with big topics that matter to many people
Some of the most well-known books in the Western literary canon include works by William Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, and many more.
Where Did the Literary Canon Come From?
The idea of a literary canon did not appear overnight. It grew slowly over hundreds of years.
In ancient times, the Greeks and Romans already had their favorite writers. People like Homer, who wrote The Iliad and The Odyssey, were seen as the greatest writers. Students in ancient Greece and Rome were taught to read and copy these writers because they were considered the best.
During the Middle Ages, the church had a big influence on what people read. Most of the important texts were religious writings in Latin. But people also held on to some of the old Greek and Roman writings because they were seen as wise and important.
Then came the Renaissance, a period from around the 1300s to the 1600s, when people in Europe became very interested in old Greek and Roman ideas again. Writers and thinkers started looking at classical works as models of great writing.
As universities grew in Europe, teachers needed to decide which books to teach. They made lists. They said, "These are the great books. These are the ones students must read." Over time, those lists became more and more fixed. They became the canon.
By the 1800s and 1900s, most schools in Europe and America were teaching a very similar set of books. This set of books was mostly written by men, mostly by white men from Europe, and mostly in a few languages like English, French, and German.
That fact would later become one of the biggest reasons people started arguing about the canon.
Why Is the Canon Important?
You might be thinking, "Why does it matter which books are on a list?" That is a fair question.
The canon matters for a few big reasons.
First, it shapes education. When a book is in the canon, it gets taught in schools. That means millions of students read it. It becomes part of how young people learn to think, feel, and see the world. Books in the canon can shape the values, ideas, and ways of thinking of whole generations.
Second, it gives writers something to look up to. When a writer wants to learn their craft, they often read the "great books." The canon tells them which books those are. In that way, the canon influences the kind of writing that gets made in the future.
Third, it decides which voices get heard. If a writer's work is in the canon, their ideas get passed down through history. People read and study those ideas for hundreds of years. But if a writer is left out of the canon, their voice can get lost. This is especially important when we talk about women writers, writers of color, and writers from countries outside of Europe.
Fourth, it has real money behind it. Publishers are more likely to keep printing books that are in the canon. Schools are more likely to buy books that are in the canon. So being in the canon can mean the difference between a book being widely available or being very hard to find.
What Makes a Book "Canon-Worthy"?
This is one of the hardest questions to answer. And it is also one of the reasons people debate the canon so much.
Over the years, scholars have said that great books should have certain qualities. Here are some of the most common ones people talk about.
Artistic quality. A canon-worthy book is usually seen as very well written. It uses language in a beautiful or powerful way. Its characters feel real. Its story is interesting and meaningful.
Influence. A book might be included in the canon if it changed the way people wrote or thought. For example, James Joyce's Ulysses is in the canon partly because it changed what was possible in writing. Many writers after Joyce were influenced by his style.
Big ideas. Books that deal with deep human questions often make it into the canon. Questions like: What does it mean to be human? What is justice? How should we live? These are the kinds of questions that canonical books often explore.
Lasting appeal. Books that people still find meaningful after many years often earn a spot in the canon. If a book was popular in 1850 and people still read and love it today, that is a sign it might be canon-worthy.
Cultural importance. Some books are in the canon because they represent an important moment in history or a key part of a culture. Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe, for example, is often included in the American literary canon because of how it shaped thinking about slavery before the Civil War.
But here is the problem. All of these qualities are judged by people. And people are not always fair or unbiased. This is where the debate begins.
Why Do People Debate the Canon?
Now we get to the most interesting part.
The literary canon has been at the center of a lot of arguments, especially in the last 50 years or so. People argue about it in universities, in schools, in newspapers, and on the internet. Let's look at the main reasons why.
1. The Canon Has Left Out Many Voices
For most of its history, the Western literary canon was made up almost entirely of books by white European men. Women writers, Black writers, Asian writers, Latino writers, writers from Africa, and many others were mostly left out.
This was not because these writers were not talented or their work was not important. It was because the people who made decisions about the canon, the scholars, the professors, the editors, were mostly white men themselves. They tended to value and promote writers who looked like them and came from similar backgrounds.
When people started pointing this out in the 1960s and 1970s, it started a big conversation. Scholars and teachers began asking: "Is the canon really a list of the greatest books ever written? Or is it a list of the books that powerful people decided to call great?"
This was a very important question. And it changed how many people thought about the canon.
2. Standards of "Greatness" Are Not Universal
What makes a book "great" is not the same for everyone. Different cultures, different times, and different people value different things in a story.
In Western literary tradition, books were often praised for their complex use of language, their individual characters, and their exploration of personal freedom. But in other literary traditions, things like community, oral storytelling, spirituality, and connection to nature might be seen as the most important qualities of great writing.
When the canon was built mostly on Western standards, it automatically left out many books from other traditions, not because those books were worse, but because they were being judged by rules that did not fit them.
3. The Canon Can Be Used as a Tool of Power
Some people argue that the canon is not just about literature. It is also about power.
When schools teach certain books and not others, they are saying, "These ideas matter. These voices matter." If the books that get taught are all from one group of people, students from other groups may feel like their stories and histories do not count.
In the 1980s and 1990s, there were famous debates in American universities about this. Some professors and scholars said the canon needed to be opened up to include more diverse voices. Others said that changing the canon was a form of political correctness that threatened the quality of education.
These arguments were very heated. They were sometimes called the "culture wars." And they are still going on in different forms today.
4. The Canon Keeps Changing Anyway
Here is something interesting. The canon is not fixed. It has always changed over time, even if slowly.
Writers who were once ignored are now celebrated. Zora Neale Hurston, a Black American writer who wrote in the early 1900s, was almost completely forgotten after her death. Then in the 1970s and 1980s, other writers and scholars, including Alice Walker, brought her work back to attention. Now her novel Their Eyes Were Watching God is widely taught and considered a masterpiece.
The same has happened with many women writers. Jane Austen was respected in her time but not always taken as seriously as male writers. Today she is one of the most studied writers in the English language.
This shows that the canon is not a simple list of objectively great books. It is shaped by the people and times that are doing the choosing.
5. Who Gets to Decide?
This is maybe the biggest question of all. Who has the power to decide what goes into the canon?
In the past, it was mostly rich white male scholars at famous universities. But today, more and more people are asking for a seat at the table. Teachers from different backgrounds, students, librarians, online communities, and readers from all over the world are all talking about which books matter and why.
The internet has made this conversation much bigger and louder. People share lists of their favorite underrated books. They talk about writers from their own cultures and communities who deserve more attention. They push back against old lists that do not represent the world they live in.
The Western Canon vs. World Literature
One of the biggest areas of debate is the difference between the Western canon and world literature.
The Western canon focuses mostly on books from Europe and North America. It includes ancient Greek and Roman texts, European novels from the 1700s and 1800s, and American literature.
But the world is much bigger than that. There are incredible literary traditions in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and beyond. Writers like Chinua Achebe from Nigeria, Gabriel Garcia Marquez from Colombia, Rabindranath Tagore from India, and Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie from Nigeria have written books that are beloved all over the world.
Some of these writers have been added to what people call the "global canon" or are studied in world literature courses. But many schools still focus mainly on the Western canon.
The debate here is: Should schools expand the canon to include more global voices? Or does expanding it risk losing the deep knowledge of the Western tradition that has shaped so much of modern thought?
Most educators today agree that both can be done. Students can learn the Western canon and also explore great writing from all over the world.
Can There Even Be a "Perfect" Canon?
Honestly? Probably not.
Any list of "the best books ever written" is going to reflect the choices, values, and blind spots of the people who made it. No list can be complete. No list can please everyone. And no list can stay the same as the world changes.
But that does not mean the canon is useless. It is still a helpful starting point. Having a list of important works gives students and readers a place to begin. It helps us have shared conversations about stories and ideas that have shaped our world.
The key is to hold the canon loosely. To see it as a living thing that can grow and change. To ask questions about who is on it and who is missing. And to always be open to discovering new voices and new stories that deserve to be heard.
What Should You Read?
If you are curious about the literary canon, here are some ideas.
Start with some of the classic books that are widely considered important. Read Shakespeare. Read Jane Austen. Read some ancient myths and stories. These books have been around for a long time because they really do deal with big, meaningful ideas.
But also explore beyond the usual lists. Look for writers from different countries and cultures. Read books by women, by people of color, by writers whose voices have not always been heard. You might find some of your favorite books in places you never expected.
Talk to teachers, librarians, and friends about what they love to read and why. Ask questions. Make your own list. And remember that reading is about more than following what someone else tells you is great. It is about finding the books that speak to you.
Conclusion: The Debate Is the Point
The debate over the literary canon is not going to end anytime soon. And maybe that is okay.
The debate shows that people care deeply about literature and about whose stories get told. It pushes us to look more carefully at what we value and why. It opens doors to writers and books that might otherwise be forgotten.
The canon is a tool. Like any tool, it is useful when used wisely and harmful when used to shut people out. The best version of the literary canon is one that keeps growing, keeps questioning itself, and keeps making room for more voices.
Because at the end of the day, stories are how we understand each other. The more stories we include, the better we understand the wide, amazing, complicated world we all share.
Written by Divya Rakesh
