Concerning the definitions of 'high brow' and 'low brow', I don't believe that the term 'depth' has anything to do with it. A 'high brow' work of literature (or art) may expect the reader to understand references to other obscure pieces that may not only make the meanings of the piece richer, but might possibly be entirely necessary for the most basic understanding of it. Whereas a 'low brow' work does not have such high expectations of its readership. While reading Haroun and the Sea of Stories, I ran into a passage that struck me. On page 86 Iff describes the Old Zone and mentions that there is little demand for the ancient stories that reside there, but it is said that all of the stories originated from that area.
All stories are retellings of other stories. Even our lives are displacements of fantastic tales. A highbrow piece of literature may make closer, more specific references to classic tales (commonly mythology) and a lowbrow piece may only nod in that direction. They both however, deal with the same thing. Rather than the black and white of 'highbrow' and 'lowbrow' I think we'll find a great grey area that holds terms such as 'common threads' and 'themes'.
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