World Literature Theory: Complex structures?

Demonstrating the pitfalls and difficulties of an opening statement, we have:

It is their consummate artistry, their ability to express complex signifying structures, that gives access to multiple dimensions of meaning, meanings that are always rooted in a specific setting and cultural tradition but that further constitute, upon comparison, a thought-provoking set of perspectives on the varieties of human experience.
--Sarah Lawall, The Norton Anthology of World Literature