9 CONDAT, ELENI S.

2Q-MT

Paz Latorena, in her work, Educating the Literary Taste, has stated that the three

standards to consider in the selection of a work that we are to use when we aspire to develop

good literary taste are the intellectual, emotional, and ethical value of a literary piece. It is of

intellectual value when it presents some truth, though not in the form or facts, but something that

is more profound than the mere acquisition of knowledge. It is a given that most literary works

are made to move its readers, thus the importance of emotional value that Pax Latorena

mentions; it is only whether the emotions that they incite are either pleasant or unpleasant.

Though the last standard that was mentioned, the ethical value of a story is undoubtedly one of

the more significant factors as it focuses on the moral side of the story; one that the readers can

get even from something that is immorally portrayed (such as from the depiction of deaths and

casualties during wars that may incite the value of nationalism within its readers).

Though this account was composed decades ago, its message remains relevant up to this

day. We know that literature is something that rarely changes, though yes, the styles and subjects

occasionally vary, the way that readers are to properly use it in the development of taste is

constant. What makes this applicable even up to this age is that the intellectual, emotional, and

ethical value of a literary work do not speak of style, form, and other subjective concepts, but a

literary aspect that we can all agree on as something that holds value and significance.