Literature (from Latin litterae) is the art of written work. The word literature literally means "things made from letters". Literature may consist of texts based on factual information (journalistic or non-fiction), a category that may also include polemical works, biography, and reflective essays, or it may consist of texts based on imagination (such as fiction, poetry, or drama).
Major Forms of Literature
Fiction - is the form of any work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not real, but rather, imaginary and theoretical—that is, invented by the author.
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Non-fiction ornonfiction - is the form of any narrative, account, or other communicative work whose assertions and descriptions are understood to be factual. Essays, journals, diaries, documentaries, histories, scientific papers, photographs, biographies, textbooks, travel books, blueprints, technical documentation, user manuals, diagrams and some journalism are all common examples of non-fiction works
Major Techniques of Literature
Literature written in poetry emphasizes the aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language—such as sound, symbolism, and metre—to evoke meanings in addition to, or in place of, ordinary meanings.
Literature written in prose applies ordinary grammatical structure and the natural flow of speech. * Literature can also be classified according to historical periods, genres, and political influences.
IMPORTANCE OF LITERATURE
"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."
C.S. Lewis, a British scholar and novelist
It has significance because literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society.
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They are a depiction of the
different facets of common man's life. They help a person take a closer look at the different facets of life. In many ways, it can change one's perspective towards life.
GENERAL TYPES OF LITERATURE
Fiction (novel and short story)
It portrays people in a certain setting and situation.
Elements of Fiction
Character - set of people who find themselves in a particular kind of situation.
Plot – consists of events which are arranged in a meaningful sequence
Setting – refers to the time and location of the action.
Theme – the fundamental issues which the story deals with.
Language and style – the habitual manner in which a person expresses himself.
Point of view – the vantage point from which characters, actions and events are seen
Types of point of view
First person
Third-Person Objective
Third person limited
Omniscient
POETRY
have a discernible story or situation.
Elements of Poetry
Connotation – addition meaning of a word which have emotional significances.
Figurative Language – poetry uses word in such a way that they mean something other than what they mean.
Imagery – an element that distinguishes poetry from other literary types.
Sound and rhythm – part of the meaning of the poem is carried by the sound of words.
Essay
composition which discusses a single topic.
Elements of Essay
Theme or Content – may have as the topic those experiences and events which the author want to recreate or interpret for his reader.
Style – is limited only by the writers personality and the topic he is writing about.
Forms and Structures – refers to the way in which all parts of the essay are connected to one another to achieve a certain impression of effects.
Drama
may be read and enjoyed as literature.
Elements of Drama
Plot – the movement in a story towards the resolution.
Character – who cause the events to happen, the one’s to whom the event happen.
Conflict – the primary ingredient of his play.
Discovery ,reversal , and dramatic
Discovery – an event over, which the audience may have, but which the character on stage do not have.
Reversal – occurs when the event or action of the play seem to be going in a certain direction but suddenly change to another direction.
Dramatic irony – build up tension and suspense.
Language and Idea - it is the thought-content of the play which is given importance by the author .
FAMOUS AUTHORS
William Shakespeare
George Orwell
J.K. Rowling
Kurt Vonnegut
Virginia Woolf
BRIEF HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF LITERATURE
WRITE
Rhetorical modes
Rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse) describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing Exposition
Expository writing is a type of writing where the purpose is to explain, inform, or even describe.
Reports
Business letters
Textbooks
Argumentation
The purpose of argumentation (also called persuasive writing) is to prove the validity of an idea, or point of view, by presenting sound reasoning, discussion, and argument that thoroughly convince the reader.
Critical review
Résumés
Description - The purpose of description is to re-create, invent, or visually present a person, place, event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described.
Journal writing
Poetry
Narration - The purpose of narration is to tell a story or narrate an event or series of events
Short story
Novels
ORAL TRADITIONS
POETRY
DRAMA
STORY TELLING
DEBATES
POETRY
Poetry is the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm
Roses are red,
Violets are blue,
Sugar is sweet,
And so are you
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance
Story Telling
A person conveys events in words or images
DEBATE
Contention or Argument
Visually Presented
Comics
Film - A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still images which, when shown on a screen, creates the illusion of moving images.
Updated: Jul 06, 2022
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General Forms and Types of Literature. (2016, Mar 28). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/general-forms-and-types-of-literature-essay
