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Conceit
Noumenal means something related to the “noumenon”—originally a philosophical concept, used by Plato to refer to the essence of something (which cannot be detected through the senses, only through thought). In the context of literature, it can refer to the fundamental essence of a work of literature, beyond the surface level phenomena of plot details, writing style, and so on.
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Noumenal Term Timeline in How to Read Literature Like a Professor
The timeline below shows where the term Noumenal appears in How to Read Literature Like a Professor. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 27: A Test Case
...While there is nothing wrong with this, readers also need to pay attention to the “noumenal level of the story, its spiritual or essential level of being.”
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