The Stem of Greatness.

Greatness, in itself, is entirely relative. One thing may be greater than another - that does not necessarily make it great; similarly, one thing may be great, but not as great as another thing. Greatness is essentially a continuous spectrum, and, as such, it is hard to define where exactly greatness begins. Also, greatness is not an objective matter by any means - one man's garbage may very well be another man's concept of ideal beauty. There is no work of art which is "universally great" - that is, a piece of art that affects every person in the exact same way. Hemingway and Faulkner are two of the most loved and hated authors in existence, depending on whom you speak to.

Although greatness is both relative and subjective, nothing may truly be "great" in any sense of the word without having any semblance of meaning, message, or theme. A work of literature may be great in one person's eyes, but not in another's. The greatness perceived in a work of art stems from the way in which the theme of the writing speaks to the reader. In order for a person to consider a piece of writing great, he or she must be deeply affected by that piece of writing; when a reader encounters a great written work, it often awakens some sort of deep emotional response within his or her soul. As a result of this emotional response, the reader is able to learn something new about his or herself; he or she may possibly learn something new about an even bigger subject - perhaps humanity itself. It is this potential to inspire intellectual growth that sets apart the greatest of literary works.