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What Is Literature
What Is Literature
Definition of Literature
The word ‘Literature’ is a modified form of a Latin word (literra, litteratura or litteratus) that
means: ‘writing formed with letters’. Let us look at what is literature according to definitions by
different celebrated literary personalities.
Literature generally can be any written work, but it is especially an artistic or intellectual work of
writing. It is one of the fine arts, like painting, dance, music, etc. which provides aesthetic
pleasure to the readers. It differs from other written works by only its one additional trait: that is
aesthetic beauty. If a written work lacks aesthetic beauty and serves only utilitarian purpose, it is
not literature. The entire genre like poetry, drama, or prose is blend of intellectual works and has
aesthetic beauty of that work. When there is no any aesthetic beauty in any written work that is
not pure literature.
Fable
Writers write a fable when the intention is to provide the audience with a moral story. A fable
usually uses animals as characters to convey the story. In Fables, animals act like humans and
are able to speak and understand reasoning. They are a personification of human characteristics
and their nature. An example of a fable is the famous story of ‘The Tortoise and the Hare’, which
almost every child has heard in his childhood. The Animal Farm by George Orwell is also a
famous fable.
Autobiography
Autobiography is an interesting thing to read because of its teller of the story is the one, about
who the story is. The character himself is the writer and describes his life from his own original
perspective and experiences. It gives you an insight on the person that is writing it, because they
share their true-life events and thoughts. Mostly, famous people write autobiographies to tell
their story to their fans and the world. A famous and spectacular example of autobiography
is ‘The Diary of a Young Girl’, a book by Anne Frank.
Biography
Biography in literature tells the story of a person from another person’s perspective. Someone
else writes it rather than the subject himself. The professional essay writer could be somebody
close to the person or somebody who had studied about that person. Biography is different
from a resume because it enlightens the audience with different aspects of a person’s life. A
great example of biography is ‘Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and
Redemption’, by Laura Hillenbrand.
Poetry
Poetry in literature is a composition of rhythm, sound, and lyrics. The definition of poetry by one
of the greatest poets in history, William Wordsworth, is “the spontaneous overflow of powerful
feelings”. The poet composes poetry in sort of a song to develop emotions and imaginations in
the listeners’ hearts and minds. Poetry is aesthetic. The poet chooses words carefully, so the
listeners can relate themselves to it. The four main types of poetry are haiku, free
verse, sonnets, and acrostic poems. An example of one of the most beautiful books of poetry
is ‘Ariel’, by Sylvia Plath.
Prose
Prose in literature is that form of literature, which is somewhat plain and simple. It has no
special grammar structure or a writing pattern to follow. It is written in a usual tone, forming
into a natural speech or a conversational tone. Nothing is specific in prose. Paragraphs or
sentences can be long or short. Examples of prose include novels, newspapers, textbooks, etc.
Science Fiction
Science fiction, also called “sci-fi,” is a genre of literature where most of the things are imaginary.
The stories are about the future technology. These fiction stories also have a relationship to real
science laws, because science considers those things possible in future, according to the
scientific laws. Science fictions are sometimes true and sometimes they are just imaginations
based on assumptions. Some examples of science fiction are, ‘The Time Machine’ by H. G.
Wells, ‘Spies in Disguise’ by Blue Sky Studios, ‘A Wrinkle in Time’ by Madeleine L’Engle, etc.
Journalistic Literature
Journalistic Literature is a sort of nonfiction. In literary journalism, the journalist gathers
information and then creates and publishes. It combines the facts and reporting with some
clever strategies and narrative techniques. These techniques make the reports more engaging
and interesting. People call literary journalism also Narrative or New Journalism. Some of the
most prominent literary journalists of past and present are Mark Singer, Richard Rhodes, Jack
London, Stephen Crane, Tom Wolfe, Henry Mayhew, etc.
History of English Literature