All 6 Uses

canon
in
How to Read Literature Like a Professor
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But let's think in terms of slightly more canonical sources.
Chpt 8 *

canonical = established
The "literary canon," by the way, is a master list of works that everyone pretends doesn't exist (the list, not the works) but that we all know matters in some important way.
Chpt 8 *

canon = recognized list of important works
A great deal of argument goes into what—and more important who—is in the canon, which is to say, whose work gets studied in college courses.†
Chpt 8
This being America and not France, there is no academy that actually sets a list of canonical texts.†
Chpt 8
When I was in school, the canon was very white and male.†
Chpt 8
One of the problems with the diversification of the canon is that modern writers can't assume a common body of knowledge on the part of their readers.†
Chpt 8

Definitions:

(1) (canon as in: a canonical requirement)
an established rule, principle, or standard -- especially in religion, philosophy, or tradition

Historically, a canon was a church law.

Do not confuse "canon" with "cannon" (a large gun).
(2) (canon as in: the Shakespearean canon)
a recognized or official list of important works, people, or texts -- especially those seen as foundational

Do not confuse "canon" with "cannon" (a large gun).
(3) (canon as in: played a canon)
a type of music where a melody is repeated exactly by another voice or instrument after a short delay, creating layered harmony

Do not confuse canon with cannon (a large gun).
(4) (canon as in: He is a canon of Toledo)
a clergy member of the Catholic Church -- specifically a one attached to a cathedral or a collegiate church

Do not confuse canon with cannon (a large gun).
(5) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)
More rarely, canon references a name, a brand name, or an unchanging part of a religious service in which bread and wine are consecrated for communion.

Canonization refers to the act of adding someone to the canon (list) of recognized saints of a Christian religious body.