Arbitrary innovations and literary universals

Fabb, Nigel (2017) Arbitrary innovations and literary universals. University of Connecticut, Storrs. (http://literary-universals.uconn.edu/2017/02/13/ar...)

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Abstract

The possibility of literary universals comes from the possibility that the forms and other aspects of literary texts are shaped by external factors such as psychology and the sociocultural functions of literature. Psychological factors include limitations on memory and processing, along with psycholinguistic factors (which might allow linguistic universals to have an influence on literary universals).