A short informational article that tackles literature. The kinds and types of such. Literature is the art of self-expression.

It comes from the Latin word, Littera, which means "acquaintance with letters". Broadly speaking, literature describes written work that ranges from creative, technical, informational, descriptive or even scientific craft. Kinds of literature according to structure

Poetry -- is an artistic piece of philosophical, personal, imaginative or inspirational nature that is laid out in lines. Prose -- is a literary piece that is written without metrical structure.

The difference between poetry and prose is the structure/measurement. In addition, poetry pertains to poems with or without rhyme. On the other hand prose is a story that can be sub classified into fiction and non-fiction. Fiction vs Non-Fiction Fiction is simply defined as a product of one's imaginative mind. It can be a short story, myth, folktale, fable or any other kinds of imaginative stories. Conversely, Non-fiction comes out of one's personal experiences, a true and factual account of varying information. Common examples of literature Poem -- is a composition written in verses having standard measurements and written with a higher intensity of artistic beauty. Legend -- is an unverified story that explains the origin of particular thing, mostly natural and God-made resources. Short Story -- is a narrative work, usually written in the form of prose and tends to be less complex than novels. Novel -- is a long narrative work that roots from medieval and early modern romance. It portrays different characters and is presented on a sequential manner. Biography/Autobiography -- biography is a written account of a someone's life while autobiography is essentially the same, the mere difference is that autobiography is an account of a person's life written by same the person himself.

Kind Of Literature
The word `literature comes from the Latin word `litera which means a written character or a letter. Early literature was oral, meant to be memorized and recited. Later, literature was written down and read. All cultures and countries have their own literature. There are many forms of literature such as folktales, poetry etc. here are some of them. Folktales these are traditional stories which belonging to one particular culture. They help to the people explain and understand their social customs, religious beliefs, historical events and eve natural phenomena. Many fair tales, animals tales, legends and myths are included in folktales- Mulla Nasruddin, is a folktale here from Turkey; Raven, the spirit of the raven bird, is a trickster god in myths of many native peoples of North America.. Poetry writing that has a definite rhythm is called poetry. Sometimes, the words in a poem rhyme, but that is not necessary. Epic, sonnet, lyric and limerick are a few kinds of poetryRamayana, an epic poem by Valmiki. Letters Generally letters are very private. However, those written by famous people are often collected and published- Two Alone, Two together, letters between Jawaharlal Nehru and Indhra Gandhi. Diary people write diaries to express their thoughts or record events. Sometimes a dairy is so interesting that it is published and read by others- The diary of Young Girl by Anne Frank, a young girl hiding from the Nazis during World War II. Drama a composition which is in the form of a dialogue is called a player or a drama. It is meant to act on the stage- Hamlet by William Shakespeare. Biography the little life story of a real person is called a biography. Biographies are generally written about famous people- Kalpana Chawla a life by Padmanabhan. *An autobiography is the life story of a person that is written by herself or himself- My life by Bill Clinton. Novel a story that is fictitious and is a volume or more long is called a novel. There are many kinds of novels-historical, mystery, science fiction, romantic etc- Baro Dii by Sarat Chandra Chatopadhyay, the Bengali writer. Short story some stories only describes one character, a situation or an incident. These are called short stories-The open Window by Saki. Travelogue The impressions of a traveler, what she or he saw and experienced while traveling is called a travelogue- Rihlah by the ancient traveler, Ibn Battauta, who traveled for 30 years through Asia and Africa.

Literary Technique
A literary technique or literary device can be used by works of literature in order to produce a specific effect on the reader. Literary technique is distinguished from literary genre as military tactics are from military strategy. Thus, though David Copperfield employs satire at certain moments, it belongs to the genre of comic novel, not that of satire. By contrast, Bleak House employs satire so consistently as to belong to the genre of satirical novel. In this way, use of a technique can lead to the development of a new genre, as was the case with one of the first modern novels, Pamela by Samuel Richardson, which by using the epistolary technique strengthened the tradition of the epistolary novel, a genre which had been practiced for some time already but without the same acclaim. Literary criticism implies a critique and evaluation of a piece of literature and in some cases is used to improve a work in progress or classical piece. There are many types of literary criticism and each can be used to critique a piece in a different way or critique a different aspect of a piece. List of Literary Techniques Mentioned below is the list of literary techniques that we often encounter in our readings especially while reading passages of SAT exams. Besides description of the literary techniques, you can also go through literary techniques examples in the further paragraphs... Alliteration Often, you might come across certain consonants repeated in a novel or a piece of art. These literary techniques are known as alliteration and their purpose is to create some musical effects, imitate sounds and give more thrust to certain words. Example: Touch each object you want to touch as if tomorrow your tactile sense would fail. ~ Helen Keller, "The Seeing See Little". Aside Aside is another character (behind the screen or a third person or a person expressing thoughts of the character). Aside is specifically meant for audience and actors involved are unable to hear aside. Example: Julius Caesar, Act II, Scene II Caesar: Bid them prepare within: I am to blame to be thus waited for. Now, Cinna: now, Metellus: what, Trebonius! I have an hour's talk in store for you;

Remember that you call on me to-day: Be near me, that I may remember you. Trebonius: Caesar, I will: Trebonius: They all make hasty plans to go to the capital. [Aside]: and so near will I be, That your best friends shall wish I had been further. Blank Verse Written in iambic pentameter lines, that was mostly used by Shakespeare, this form of poetry is written in nonrhythmic style. Iambic pentameter uses patterns of light syllables and they're accompanied by accented or stressed syllables. Example: Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene I Romeo: But soft! What light through yon-der win-dow breaks? It is the East and Ju-liet is the sun! A-rise fair sun and kill the en-vious moon, Who is al-rea-dy sick and pale with grief That though her maid art far more fair than she. Climax The situation, that often concludes the drama, at the highest point of any drama scene which makes it more intense for the further scene is known as climax. Comic Relief Comic relief provides ease and comfort in case of tense and difficult situations in novels and dramas. Finding humor in time of problems is an interesting way to keep the story alive and keep the audience engaged. Conflict Conflict, as the word means is a struggle between two forces of opposite nature. Characters in many movies, dramas, stories and novels struggle with themselves or with some external situations. A struggle that takes place inside the mind of a character is called internal conflict while that takes outside is called as external conflict. Man Vs Himself, is, for example a literary example of internal conflict. Man Vs Nature is an example of external conflict. Cliche It is an expression that has been so popular that it might have lost its meaning. For example, the expression, "turn over a new leaf". Caricature A caricature is description or portrayal of a character by exaggerating its characteristic features written with the intention of mocking it. For example, caricatures of political leaders is very often

seen in newspapers or during strikes. Epiphany A profound spiritual realization, often called as life changing event in the life of the character. Epiphany has been used in many plays when a character realizes truth that is different that what he or she excepts. Hyperbole An exaggerated expression that intensifies a fact. Examples of hyperbole are found abundantly in various plays of Shakespeare. Example: If thou dost slander her and torture me, Never pray more; abandon all remorse; On horrors head accumulate; Do deeds to make heaven weep, all earth amazed; For nothing canst thou to damnation add Greater than that. ~ Shakespeare (Othello) Imagery Words weaved in such a style that they bring sensory impressions to the reader. There are numerous imagery examples in literature especially in poetry. For example, consider the statement, "He could hear the footsteps of doom nearing as she walked away from him, leaving him all alone". Irony Irony is, by far, one of the most commonly used literary techniques. Literature abounds in irony examples and you can find numerous irony examples in literature right from writings of Shakespeare to present day writers. Example: Poetry from The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge. "Water, water, every where, And all the boards did shrink ; Water, water, every where, Nor any drop to drink." Metaphor Comparison of two things without using words 'like' or "as". One of the examples of metaphor is, "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate:" by William Shakespeare. Onomatopoeia Onomatopoeia is a word that describes the origin of a sound or imitates a sound. For example, in Batman movies words like KABOOM, BANG, POW, WHACK, WHAM, BOINK, POP, are used

to add sound effects to action scenes. Oxymoron An integral part of figures of speech list, oxymoron are words that contradict each others meaning. For example, "he is a wise fool". Paradox A statement that although may appear contradictory expresses a deeper truth or another facet of the same expression. For example, A rich man is no richer than a beggar. Another example of paradox is What a pity that youth must be wasted on the young." ~ George Bernard Shaw Personification In personification, human qualities are given to objects and things. One of the simple personification examples is, opportunity knocked on the door. This was just a summarized list of various literary techniques in English language. Certainly, you may be reminded of some literary techniques that haven't been mentioned here. You can share them with us in the comments column and reach out to a large number of readers.

What Is Literature?
What is Literature? Or, There Is No Essential, Inherent Category of the "Literary." (A paraphrase, summary, and adaptation of the opening chapter of Terry Eagleton's Introduction to Literary Theory) Have you ever felt ashamed or secretive about books you like because they are not on approved reading lists? Have you ever had a teacher, friend, or parent tell you that what you are reading isn't "literature," that it may have words printed on a page, but it is somehow inferior in quality to other books? That is, it might be "literature" in the broad sense of the term (words on a page) but it's not "literary"? Well, the problem with such judgments is that if you press someone about her definition of "literature" or "literariness," she will have a hard time finding a criteria that works for everything we have ever called literature. Although many have tried to define what "literature" is or what makes something "literary," no one has successfully defined literature in such a way that it accounts for the complexities of language and the wide variety of written texts. For example.... Some define literature as writing which is "imaginative" or fictive, as opposed to factual, true, or historical. This seems reasonable until we realize that ... (1) what counts as "fact" varies with cultures and time periods. Is the book of Genesis (and the entire Bible for that matter) fact or fiction? Are the legends and myths of Greek, Scandinavia, and Native Americans fact or fiction? Is Darwin's Origin of Species fact or fiction? Are news reports fact or fiction?

(2) What is clearly imaginative writing is often not considered literature. For example, comic books, computer game stories, and Harlequin Romances are usually excluded from the category of "literature" even though they are certainly imaginative. (3) A lot of what we do consider literature is more like history (i.e. Boswell's Biography of Samuel Johnson, Claredon's History of the Rebellion) or philosophy (i.e. the works of Mill, Ruskin, Newman). In sum, fact vs. fiction is not a helpful way to distinguish between what is literary and what is not. There are also a lot of "facts" in novels, and many novels are based on real historical events. Perhaps it is the way we use language. As some argue, literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language. If I say, "Thou still unravished bride of quietness," then you know it's literature or you know that I'm using "literary" language. The language is different from everyday speech in texture, rhythm and resonance. The sentence, "This is awfully squiggly handwriting!" doesn't sound literary, does it? However, there are also some problems. (1) "Unordinary" speech depends upon a norm from which to deviate. But the specialized vocabulary used in sports, dance, music, small town diners, Glaswegian dockworkers, etc. or even everyday slang varies widely from the norm, but we don't classify that language as "literary." For example, most if not all of our swear words employ metaphorical/poetic language. (2) There isn't a universal norm. One person's norm may be another's deviation. "Shitkicker" for "cowboy boot" may be poetical to someone from New York, but it's everyday speech in Laramie. Many of us think British words for everyday items seems poetical. (3) Finally, the sentence above "This is awfully squiggly handwriting!"

doesn't sound literary, but it comes from Knut Hamsun's novel Hunger. Therefore, what is literary depends upon the context. Anything read in an English class could count as literature simply because it is read for English. Perhaps literature is "non-useful" writing, writing that doesn't help us do something pragmatic. There are still several problems. (1) One could read anything as "non-useful." That is, I could easily read a shopping listand point out the interesting metaphors, beautiful sounds, imagery, etc. or (2) I could read Moby Dick to find out how to kill whales. In fact, I have used a novel about sled dogs to train my own dogs. Is that book no longer "literature" once I turn it into a "how-to" book? Perhaps something is literature because it is the kind of writing we like to read; it's a highly valued kind of writing. In this case, anything can be literature, and anything can stop being literature. The important implication is that we don't get to decide what is literature because our parents, teachers, exams, etc. define that for us. We are trained to value the kind of writing that they value. "Literature" and the "literary" then are highly subjective categories. We can't decide whether or not something is "literature" or "literary" simply by looking at its form or language.Shakespeare's works have not always been valued as literature, and his works may not be valued in the future. You may feel dissatisfied because we will never come up with a concrete definition, but that is the point. As Terry Eagleton points out, "we can drop once and for all the illusion that the category "literature" is objective in the sense of being eternally given and immutable" (10). He goes on to say that our opinions and value-judgments are not neutral either, that "the ways in which what we say and believe connects with the power-structure and power-relations of the society we live in" (14). In other words, your

opinions about literature and literariness are not just your opinions. They are related to how and where you were raised and educated. Importantly, our environment encourages us to accept some values but not others, support the activities of some groups but not others, or exclude some choices as unacceptable. Therefore, how we define literature reveals what we have been taught to value and what we have been taught to reject. This is important for you because you are forced, for the most part, to learn what other people value and at the very minimum, what other people have made available for you to read. It's also important if you plan on teaching, for you will help shape the perceptions of your students. Again, have you ever had a teacher tell you that the novel you are reading is "not literature," "escapist," or just "fun reading"? Can you see the potential problem here, especially when it comes to passing tests, getting into college, and pleasing others, including yourself? Do you recognize that the source of your values may not even be you? Another way to frame this insight is to say that I tried to encourage you to ask different questions, questions that I have found far more useful. Asking "Is it literature?" or "Is it good literature?" is not as important or interesting as asking... - What does one's definition of "literature" reveal about one's attitudes, beliefs, values, training, or socialization (in short, one's ideological affiliation)? - How do definitions and categories of "literature" and especially "good literature" coincide with specific political issues like "Who should govern?" "Who should have what role or function in society?" "What kinds of behaviors and belief should be excluded or included?" Put yet another way, I would encourage you to look at definitions, reading lists, evaluations, etc. as a way to learn about your own set of values (that inevitably connect with larger systems of value), your own particular school

system and our culture at large. As you will discover, a quick glance at the race, gender, class, and time period of authors you have had to read in school will reveal something about whose ideology (system of values, beliefs, and history) is valorized, privileged, and passed on to other generations. Therefore, what and how you read is a political issue because it has to do with relations and structures of power. Texts are enjoyable to read, but we need to take them seriously, for they tell us in their own way a lot about ourselves and our society.

What is the Literature?

Submitted by jonathanswingler on Sat, 10/24/2009 - 20:07

Although you might think of novels and poetry when you hear the word "literature" for a piece of research the meaning is more specific. In terms of a literature review, "the literature" means the works you consulted in order to understand and investigate your research problem. Journal articles: these are good especially for up-to-date information. Bear in mind, though, that it can take up to two years to publish articles. They are frequently used in literature reviews because they offer a relatively concise, up-to-date format for research, and because all reputable journals are refereed (i.e. editors publish only the most relevant and reliable research). Books: books tend to be less up-to-date as it takes longer for a book to be published than for a journal article. Text books are unlikely to be useful for including in your literature review as they are intended for teaching, not for research, but they do offer a good starting point from which to find more detailed sources. Conference proceedings: these can be useful in providing the latest research, or research that has not been published. They are also helpful in providing information on which people are currently involved in which research areas, and so can be helpful in tracking down other work by the same researchers. Government/corporate reports: many government departments and corporations commission or carry out research. Theirpublished findings can provide a useful source of information, depending on your field of study. Newspapers: since newspapers are generally intended for a general (not specialized) audience, the information they provide will be of very limited use for your literature review. Often newspapers are more helpful as providers of information about recent trends, discoveries or changes, e.g. announcing changes in government policy, but you should then search for more detailed information in other sources. Theses and dissertations: these can be useful sources of information. However there are disadvantages: 1) they can be difficult to obtain since they are not published, but are generally only available from the library shelf or through interlibrary loan; 2) the student who carried out the research may not be an experienced researcher and therefore you might have to treat their findings with more caution than published research. Internet: the fastest-growing source of information is on the Internet. It is impossible to characterize the information available but here are some hints about using electronic sources: 1) bear in mind that anyone can post information on the Internet so the quality may not be reliable, 2) the information you find may be intended for a general audience and so not be suitable for inclusion in your literature review (information for a general audience is usually less detailed) and 3) more and more refereed electronic journals (e-journals) are appearing on the Internet - if they are refereed it means that there is an editorial board that evaluates the work before publishing it in their e-journal, so the quality should be more reliable (depending on the reputation of the journal).

CD-ROMS: at the moment, few CR-ROMs provide the kind of specialized, detailed information about academic research that you need for your own research since most are intended for a general audience. However, more and more bibliographies are being put onto CD-ROM for use in academic libraries, so they can be a very valuable tool in searching for the information you need. Magazines: magazines intended for a general audience (e.g. Time) are unlikely to be useful in providing the sort of information you need. Specialized magazines may be more sexy(for example business magazines for management students) but usually magazines are not useful for your research except as a starting point by providing news or general information about new discoveries, policies, etc. that you can further research in more specialized sources.

What is Literature?

After reading Terry Eagleton's Literary Theory, I must admit my concept of "literature" has been somewhat altered. The most important question Eagleton poses, and which question I have adopted, is "Is there such a thing as 'literature'?" When I wrote my original essay, attempting to define this slippery concept, I was operating under the assumption that such a thing did, indeed, exist. Now, after an intense dose of critical analysis, I find, with Eagleton, that there is no distinct "literary qualifier" (my own term-unless previously claimed) to which we can easily point. In considering each of the critical theories described in Literary Theory, I found myself instinctively drawn to the task of determining the twofold aspect of each, namely philosophy and approach. One can appreciate a number of different approaches to a given text, but, ultimately, there will be only one embraceable philosophy. While I noticed the worth of structuralism and psychoanalysis as approaches to texts, only reader response, or reception, theory provided a philosophy with which I could identify "meaning." I expressed my affinity for this theory in my essay on Les Liaisons Dangereuseswhen I stated that "it allows the reader a certain measure of autonomy and encourages a participatory attitude towards literature." This same "participatory" quality is not only vital to the experience of (whatever we might deem) literature, but it is sadly ignored by all of the other critical theories, with the possible exception of psychoanalysis. Eagleton points out the fragile concept of the literary "canon" with which we are all familiar, and by which we are all conditioned. It is at this juncture, however, that I find myself obliged to stand as a bulwark against his attempted deconstruction of said concept. While he is right that this canon is nothing more than an aggregate of historical literary value judgments, of, in effect, shared belief systems pertaining to the written word, and may very well be a tool for the perpetuation of various social ideologies, I must nevertheless defend this much-maligned group of texts as being, for the most part, valuable and worthwhile. No amount of intellectual posturing can persuade me that The Merchant of Venice is on a par with The Silence of the Lambs. Eagleton's point that each of us is a thinking individual and capable of forming our own opinions as to the literary quality of a given work is well taken; I should not, on the other hand, be criticized for coming to the conclusion, via such prescribed scrutiny, that the majority of texts in the accepted canon are, in fact, literature. In summing up, I wish to thank the instructor for his chosen format in the teaching of "Junior Seminar." The application of specific sections of Eagleton's book to selected works of literature (ooh, ooh-"literature"-can't say that, can't say that!) has been invaluable to my awareness of that murky, treacherous nether region of English studies known as literary theory. While realizing that I have only just touched the

surface of this gigantic bad egg of pedantry and pretentiousness, I feel confident that I can escape the onslaught of post-structuralists and mimeticists reasonably unscathed.