Among scholars, students of literature are unusual in that their field is centuries old yet still not precisely defined by anyone. However, all agree great literature is more than just engaging writing. It has profundity and substance, communicates something important to the reader, not just todays reader, but readers 500 years from now. I'll post my own suggestions in a response below because I want everyone else's thoughts as well, uninfluenced by my own (indeed, two people have already noted "subthemes" that completely escaped me.)

At least half a dozen examples come easily to mind in TWoT though. I won't call it great literature because, though the definition remains vague, literature is more than just a didactic exercise. Certainly there's plenty of room between mindless pulp fiction and a literary opus, and far be it from me to say where in that spectrum WoT lies. I do think it unquestionable though that Jordan does more than spin a good yarn: He not only has something to say, but something worth hearing, something worth sharing, so I invite everyone to share what examples of that each of us sees.

There, with a minute to spare.