Concept of Period in Literary Studies

Literary period functions as a regulative idea for literary critics in the narrative of literary history. Literary period is a time-section; although in literary history and criticism، it has also other implications and associative meanings. Some of these secondary meanings which can be called components of literary period are: zeitgeist، the conditions of literary production، dominant norms، change and evolution، binary oppositions، individual or collective idealistic narrative، and concept of spatiality. Zeitgeist and the conditions of literary period offer theories about factors extrinsic to literature that manage establishment and change of general and literary periods. The concept of period as time-section ruled by a series of literary norms ascribes some kind of internal unity to literary periods. Periodization based upon organic idea of evolution compares every period with one of the life’s stages of an organism. Some critics understand literary period in terms of binary oppositions such as classic and modern. Others give literary period a spatial aspect. However، literary history is a result of individual or collective idealistic narrative. It is not a concept but an idea. It is not related to knowledge but to thinking.