THE MEDIUM

OF LITERATURE
AND THE
COMBINED
ARTS
Literature comes from the Latin root (‘’Literatura /
Litteratura’’) derived itself from Litera which means
letter or handwriting. It was used to refer to all
written accounts, but intertwined with the Roman
concept of cultura : learning or cultivation.
The medium of literature is ‘’LANGUAGE’’;
that is the writer uses words which to
‘’BUILD’’ his composition in the same
manner that a builder uses stone, bricks,
or woods to construct an edifice.
 Each word has its particular sound and
meaning. These words are not used singly,
however, but in combination w/ other words
and arranged according to certain patterns or
structures to suggest images and feelings.
While all writings use language, not everything
that is written or communicated in a language
can be called Literature. The term is more
exclusively used to refer to works that exploit
the suggestive power of language. Other
writings like scientific treatises, journals, and
the like, use words merely on the literal level-
as definite symbols of ideas.
LITERATURE
Uses words which have fairly
definite meanings in their
context, but are capable of
connoting or suggesting
other meanings besides,
so that a reader of a short
story may go beyond
the simple ‘’story line’’ for
instance, to other levels of
meanings.
Since every language is the vehicle that a
particular group of people use to express
their particular sensibility, it is limited in its
appeal. It would be incomprehensible to
those who do not speak it.
The beauty of a literary piece can only be
appreciated by one who understands the
language in which it was written. We
cannot, for instance, appreciate Chinese
Literature or Japanese Literature in the
original if we do not know Chinese or
Japanese.
 We can perhaps, appreciate a Chinese Poem
when it has been translated into a language that
we understand. But since language is something
closely associated with the character and
temperament of the people who speak it, we may
not fully grasp the impact of the poem.
 There are always certain nuances that get
lost in the process of translation. The sound and
rhythm of the original is lost, and the meaning is
not always accurately conveyed in the
translation. This is obvious in the various
attempts to render Rizal’s ‘’Ultimo Adios’’ in the
different vernaculars and foreign languages.