An argument in literature is a brief summary, often in
prose
Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...
, of a poem or section of a poem or other work. It is often appended to the beginning of each chapter, book, or
canto
The canto () is a principal form of division in medieval and modern long poetry.
Etymology and equivalent terms
The word ''canto'' is derived from the Italian word for "song" or "singing", which comes from the Latin ''cantus'', "song", from the ...
. They were common during the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
as a way to orient a reader within a large work.
John Milton included arguments for each of the twelve books of the second edition of ''
Paradise Lost'', published in 1674 (the original ten-book edition of 1667 did not include them). They present a concise but often simplified account of what ''happens'' in the book, though they seem not to be intended to have interpretive value, and they have been only sporadically referenced by
critics
A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or governme ...
. The first begins:
:This first Book proposes, first in brief, the whole Subject, Mans disobedience, and the loss thereupon of Paradise wherein he was plac't: Then touches the prime cause of his fall, the Serpent, or rather Satan in the Serpent; who revolting from God, and drawing to his side many Legions of Angels, was by the command of God driven out of Heaven with all his Crew into the great Deep.
The argument could also be in verse, as in
Ludovico Ariosto's ''
Orlando Furioso'' or
William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...
's
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell
''The Marriage of Heaven and Hell'' is a book by the English poet and printmaker William Blake. It is a series of texts written in imitation of biblical prophecy but expressing Blake's own intensely personal Romantic and revolutionary belief ...
. Most arguments included in poems are written by the authors themselves, but in other cases they could be added subsequently by a printer or publisher to an earlier work.
An example of modern literature using this technique is
Vikram Seth
Vikram Seth (born 20 June 1952) is an Indian novelist and poet. He has written several novels and poetry books. He has won several awards such as Padma Shri, Sahitya Academy Award, Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, WH Smith Literary Award and Crosswor ...
's ''
A Suitable Boy
''A Suitable Boy'' is a novel by Vikram Seth, published in 1993. With 1,349 pages (1,488 pages in paperback), the English-language book is one of the longest novels published in a single volume.
''A Suitable Boy'' is set in a newly post-inde ...
'' (1993), where each of the 19 sections are described by a rhyming couplet on the table of contents.
External links
Book 1 of ''Paradise Lost,''from th
Milton Reading Room
History of literature
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