Debates rage over what kind of literature we ought to read, what is good and bad literature, and whether in the digital age, literature even has a future. But what exactly is literature? How do we know when we have a piece of literature in our hand? Why we should read literature? And how do we read literature? These are some of the big questions tackled by Hillis Miller in this fascinating and reflective little book. Well known for his work on ethics and literature, he goes back to some of the earliest questions that Plato and Aristotle asked about literature.