LITERARY ANTHOLOGY: DEFINITION, CHARACTERISTICS AND EXAMPLES - LITERATURE - 2024

The literary anthology is a compilation of texts selected with specific criteria. The anthologies group works widely recognized for their contribution in the field of literature. The differentiating character of literary anthologies is the discrimination and selection of their content.

This selection is made based on the quality and added value of the text. Anthologies can contain a collection of works by the same author, as well as can be classified according to a particular literary genre, such as: a poetic anthology or an anthology of fables.

It is also possible to find an anthology of a very extensive work; that is, a selection of the most outstanding chapters of a large book. An example of this is the work The Thousand and One Nights. This compilation of oriental tales has been reproduced on multiple occasions in the form of an anthology, given the length of the original work.

The anthologies are an elite selection that invites the reader to deepen their knowledge of a particular work or literary genre. The selection criteria is to the liking of the anthologist; that is to say, of the person who compiles and publishes the anthology with the comments and insights it deems pertinent.

Definition

A literary anthology is a collection of texts that collect the best possible selection, according to the framework of the choice; that is, if it is discriminated by author, genre or subject.

Many anthologies include comments from who compiled the texts. With this, it is possible to outline the main ideas of each section, and even weave the plots between the various texts that make up the work.

Main characteristics of the literary anthology

Structure according to anthologizer's intentions

Anthologies have a premeditated arrangement, determined by the anthology's intentions. The criteria for ordering the content can be inductive, deductive or chronological, depending on the preferences of the collector.

Objective focus

Anthologies must be presented with a purely objective approach. There are no interpretive barriers for this type of text selection; on the contrary, all ideas are welcome within the framework of critical analysis and impartiality.

Encourage delving into an author or topic

The purpose of the anthologies is to encourage the reader to deepen their knowledge on the subject, and to generate their own judgment about the author, literary genre or selected topic.

Anthologies are sometimes made for educational purposes. The professors (at different academic levels) rely on this type of compilation to guide their master classes, using the anthologies as reference texts.

For example, an anthology of Pablo Neruda would be an excellent starting point to study the work of this prominent Latin American poet, and take a look at the best of his repertoire.

Types of literary anthologies

There is a great variety of literary anthologies. According to the anthologist's judgment, these may be:

Of tales

It is common to find anthologies that list stories that are different from each other, which allows the reading of each of the stories independently.

Novels

The anthologist usually selects some autonomous chapters of a novel, to shed light on the main plot and encourage the reading of the original work.

In this case, it is essential to take care of the sequence of the events narrated, to maintain the interest of the reader throughout the anthology.

Poetic

They can be classified according to the author, country or a particular time, depending on the focus of the collection.

Thematic

This type of anthology focuses on a topic and groups in its content the best texts (essays, stories, articles, among others) on that topic.

Thematic anthologies are rich in a variety of styles, which is why the ability to compile and gear the texts that compose them is key.

From an author

They collect the best of an author's work, which may imply the coexistence of several literary genres within the same anthology.

Personal

They are arbitrary compilations to the liking of an anthologist. It can cover a selection of texts without a defined classification, including a diversity of literary genres or themes, only to the liking of who makes the anthology.

Parts of the literary anthology

Generally, anthologies have the following parts or elements:

Cover page

This section details the name of the person who made the selection of texts, the title of the anthology, literary genre and the date of publication, among other information of interest.

Index

It details the location (page number) of each text, for easy and quick location within the anthology.

Introduction

The anthologist must indicate the objective of the anthology, the selection criteria of the works and the contribution of the compilation.

Suggestions for reading

Contains the anthologizer's recommendations before starting the reading, if they exist. It refers to previous reads, suggested reading sequences, among others.

Content of the anthology

It is the body of the work and includes the compilation of texts according to the criteria of the anthologist. It can include comments from the collector of the works, historical data or the suggestion of reference sources to expand the knowledge on the subject.

Glossary

In case the anthology includes technical terminology or the use of words that are not common in Spanish, it is highly recommended to place a glossary as an appendix to the work to facilitate its reading.

Bibliography

The sources consulted for compilation are detailed there.

Examples

- A model of a Greek anthology: the Palatine Anthology. By Germán Santana Henríquez.

- Anthologies of Canarian poetry. By Eugenio Padorno Navarro.

- Anthologies of Latin literature. By José Miguel Baños Baños.

- William Shakespeare Quotation Anthology. By Josep Mercadé.

- Anthology of the Hispanic American story. By Seymour Menton.

- The best police stories. By Adolfo Bioy Casares and Jorge Luis Borges.

- The art of literary selection in Antiquity: canon, anthology-florilegio and centón. By Marcos Martínez Hernández.

- Poetic Anthology of Gabriela Mistral. By Alfonso Calderón.

- Anthology of the Thousand and One Nights. By Julio Samsó.

References

1. Anthology (literature) (nd). Havana Cuba. Recovered from: ecured.cu
2. Literary Anthology (2015). Ministry of Education. Lima Peru. Recovered from: perueduca.pe
3. Elaboration of anthologies (2007). Autonomous University of Aguascalientes. Aguascalientes, Mexico. Recovered from: uaa.mx
4. The literary anthology (2001). Recovered from: dialnet.unirioja.es
5. Padilla, J. (sf). Some criteria for a literary anthology for students of EGB Escuela Universitaria "Pablo Montesino". Madrid Spain. Recovered from: magazines.ucm.es
6. Pérez, J. and Merino, M. (2011). Definition of Anthology. Recovered from: definicion.de
7. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (2018). Anthology. Recovered from: es.wikipedia.org