Moretti Analysis

In Franco Moretti’s “Graphs, Maps, Trees”, the history of literature is analyzed through a completely different perspective. Moretti uses many graphs and charts to show his analysis of literary history, which is not what most readers are used to when thinking about literature. He creates this analysis to have a scientific feel to it. One of the benefits I see to this is that it becomes a new way to analyze literature, possibly making this easier to understand for those who require data as evidence (Scientists). Another benefit Moretti’s writing has is that he gives plenty of supporting evidence to his claims through the graphs and charts throughout his writing. A drawback to this kind of approach to literature is that it might be a little too scientific to some, thus causing it to be seen as just facts. This type of writing is exactly what is needed for fields such as biological and physical sciences, where computing tools are almost always necessary in order to support that type of literature. The combination of computing tools and literature is what most scientists use in order to prove their hypothesis is correct and I believe that these fields actually require that computing tools are used in order to support the evidence found by scientists. In social sciences, computing tools are also used to support opinions made by some but the tools are not as frequently used. Social sciences usually require that individuals use computing tools to assist them in creating a valid argument. A way to approach SSTLS other than close reading would be to approach it through a broader spectrum of thought. This could be done by comparing the type of writing in SSTLS and “Graphs, Maps, Trees” to the type of writing from the era before the one that is present today.