The question of what is literature has been asked many different ways and has been answered inn many different ways. One of the multiple ways one can examine a work for its worth has been presented in Abram's "Ordeal of Fire and Water." This selection argues that a piece should pass both the first initial reading, where the piece should grab the attention of the audience, and the second reading which should reveal the deeper meanings present.
             Modern poetry has been questioned for it's substance ever since it has been written. "The Red Wheelbarrow," by William Carlos Williams is a poem that has no obvious meaning. At first read, although it grads the attention of the reader, the poem reveals very little. Upon dissecting the lines and looking at its form, one discovers that the poem, while producing more questions than answers, has definite art to it. The words "so much depends on a red wheelbarrow glazed with rain beside the white chickens," have been arranged in such a way that one segment bleeds down to the next. It seems like a simple poem written about simple poem written about a simple object, but so much is dependent on the simple object , and so much depends on the 16 simple words. Similarly, "Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" and "One Perfect Rose," have language and form. They may not be so obvious in showing us their literary value as Shakespeare, but they are undisputed works o!
             f literature through the ordeals of fire and water.
             Shakespeare's sonnets with their striking words, are undisputed in their beauty and worth as well. They are little windows into the heart of a lover. The language alone is enough too keep a reader a lover of sonnets for life. The meanings are the truths that most people realize through out their lives but cannot express as well themselves.
             Hamlet with it's poetic ver...