Post by ernesto thaddeus m. solmerano on Sept 7, 2020 6:57:29 GMT -5
WHAT IS LITERATURE?
Generally speaking, literature (which comes from the Latin littera which means “letters”) refers to compositions that are designed to tell stories, dramatize events, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas. Works which were written before the invention of the printing press were obviously spoken or sung and kept only as long as the people learned and practiced them. While many of these oral literatures are lost, many of them have also been recovered and preserved as printed texts. There is still an oral tradition of literature, with many poems designed to be read aloud in their entirety, and with all the plays intended to be performed and spoken by live actors. Today, however, writing and printing give life to most literature. As a result, reading and appreciating literary texts are often a highly private, personal, silent experience.
THE GENRES OF LITERATURE
Literature may be classified into five categories or genres: (1) prose fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, (4) nonfiction prose, and (5) creative nonfiction.
While all are art forms, each with its structure and style requirements, the first three are usually classed as imaginative literature. The genres of imaginative literature have a lot in common, but they also have distinctive features.
Prose fiction includes novels, short stories, myths, parables, romances, and epics. Fiction originally meant anything made up, crafted, or shaped, but as we understand the word today, it means a prose narrative based on the author's imagination.
Although fiction, like all imaginative literature, may introduce true historical details, it is not real history, for its purpose is primarily to interest, divert, stimulate and instruct. The essence of fiction is narration, the relating or recounting of a sequence of events or actions. Works of fiction typically focus on one or more characters as they undergo change as they interact or deal with other characters.
Poetry is more economical than prose fiction in the use of words, and it relies heavily on imagery, figurative language, and sound.
Drama is a literary work which is designed to be performed by actors on stage. Like fiction, drama may focus on one or more characters, and presents dramatic events as if they were happening at present, to be performed on stage and witnessed by audience.
Imaginative literature differs from nonfiction prose, the fourth genre, which refers to any kind of prose writing that is based on facts and deals with real people, things, events, and places. The story must conform to what is true and cannot be manipulated by the writer’s imagination. Major goals of nonfiction prose are truth in reporting and logic in reasoning.
The distinction between fiction and non-fiction has become blurred in recent years. Fictionists frequently base their stories on real-life scenarios and imagined characters, and historians often inserted fictional conversations to convey historical figures' thoughts or views. This genre of writing is called creative non-fiction. It is a form of writing that incorporates literary styles and techniques to construct factual stories.
THE LANGUAGE OF LITERATURE
As to language, literature can be divided into three forms: prose, verse, and poetic prose.
Prose is the most typical form of language. It is a type of language that uses ordinary linguistic structure and natural speech flow rather than metrical structure. Novels, short stories, essays, fable, folk tale, legend, myth, narrative, saga, and science fiction are examples of prose fiction.
On the other hand, a verse is a type of language in which language is used for its artistic and suggestive qualities in addition to its apparent meaning. Examples of verse include poems and songs.
Finally, poetic prose is a type of language that uses prose and verse at the same time. When a literary piece is written with special attention to its beauty and special attention to its meaning, then the language used is called "poetic prose."
THE STANDARDS OF LITERATURE
Like all other art forms, literature has certain criteria by which all texts can be measured for evaluation. In A Study of Literary Types and Forms, Garcia, Rosales, and Barranco (1993) distinguish the following attributes of great literature, namely:
1. Artistry. This is a quality which appeals to our sense of beauty.
2. Intellectual Value. A literary work stimulates thought. It enriches our mental life by making us realize fundamental truths about ourselves, about other human beings, and about the world around.
3. Suggestiveness. This is the quality associated with the emotional power of literature. Great literature moves us deeply and stirs our feeling and imagination, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plain of ordinary life and experience.
4. Spiritual Value. Literature elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which makes us a better person. The capacity to inspire is part of the spiritual value of literature.
5. Permanence. A great work of literature endures. It can be read again and again as each reading gives fresh delight and new insights and opens new worlds of meaning and experience. Its appeal is lasting.
6. Universality. Great literature is timeless and timely. It is forever relevant and appeals to one and all, anytime, anywhere because it deals with elemental feelings, fundamental truths, and universal conditions.
7. Style. This is the peculiar way in which a writer sees life, forms his ideas and expresses them. Great literary works are marked as much by their memorable substance as well as by their distinctive style. Style should suit content. (Garcia, C., Rosales, P., & Barranco, C., 1993)
To these seven qualities of great literature, we should add an eight aspect equally essential to literature, i.e.:
8. Form. It is the design of the work as a whole, the configuration of all its parts. The “form” answers the question “how”: how well the work is made, how well the work is written or how well the work is done. In a literary work, nothing is by accident. Even the smallest detail is an artistic decision made by the author. Every element in a literary work ought to contribute to the effectiveness and beauty of the whole.
DEFINING FICTION
Fiction is a term used to describe creative prose work. It is an imagined story, usually written down, that the author tells in ordinary, natural language. It chiefly uses an array of narrative techniques and has a wide range in terms of length. It deals, in part or whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, invented and imaginary – that is, made up by the author. Examples of prose fiction works include novels, novellas, short stories, fables, fairy tales, legends, myths, etc. but it now also encompasses films, comic books, and video games.
TYPES OF FICTION
Literary and commercial fiction are the two main types of fiction.
Commercial fiction attracts a bigger audience, while literary fiction appears to attract a smaller, more imaginative audience.
Another way of categorizing prose fiction is to look at genre or style. Here are some examples of prose fiction by type:
1. Novel
A novel is a "fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes." (Novel – dictionary.com, 2020)
2. Novella
A novella is a written fictitious prose story, less than a novel, yet longer and more complicated than a short story. Examples of novella include John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", George Orwell's "Animal Farm", Ayn Rand's "Anthem", Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis", Saul Bellow's "Seize the Day", Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice", Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Chronicle of a Death Foretold", Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground", Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and Herman Melville's "Billy Budd: A Sailor".
3. Short Story
According to the American poet and fictionist Edgar Allan Poe, the short story is "a piece of fiction dealing with a single incident – material or spiritual – that can be read at a sitting. It is original; it must sparkle, excite, or impress; it must have unity of effect or impression, and it must move in an even line from its exposition up to its close." (Poe, 1846)
A short story can be a fable or a parable, real or fantasy, a true presentation or a parody, sentimental or sarcastic, serious in intent, or a light-hearted diversion. It can be any of these, but to be memorable, it must catch the eternal in casual, invest a moment with the immensity of time.
Generally speaking, literature (which comes from the Latin littera which means “letters”) refers to compositions that are designed to tell stories, dramatize events, express emotions, and analyze and advocate ideas. Works which were written before the invention of the printing press were obviously spoken or sung and kept only as long as the people learned and practiced them. While many of these oral literatures are lost, many of them have also been recovered and preserved as printed texts. There is still an oral tradition of literature, with many poems designed to be read aloud in their entirety, and with all the plays intended to be performed and spoken by live actors. Today, however, writing and printing give life to most literature. As a result, reading and appreciating literary texts are often a highly private, personal, silent experience.
THE GENRES OF LITERATURE
Literature may be classified into five categories or genres: (1) prose fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, (4) nonfiction prose, and (5) creative nonfiction.
While all are art forms, each with its structure and style requirements, the first three are usually classed as imaginative literature. The genres of imaginative literature have a lot in common, but they also have distinctive features.
Prose fiction includes novels, short stories, myths, parables, romances, and epics. Fiction originally meant anything made up, crafted, or shaped, but as we understand the word today, it means a prose narrative based on the author's imagination.
Although fiction, like all imaginative literature, may introduce true historical details, it is not real history, for its purpose is primarily to interest, divert, stimulate and instruct. The essence of fiction is narration, the relating or recounting of a sequence of events or actions. Works of fiction typically focus on one or more characters as they undergo change as they interact or deal with other characters.
Poetry is more economical than prose fiction in the use of words, and it relies heavily on imagery, figurative language, and sound.
Drama is a literary work which is designed to be performed by actors on stage. Like fiction, drama may focus on one or more characters, and presents dramatic events as if they were happening at present, to be performed on stage and witnessed by audience.
Imaginative literature differs from nonfiction prose, the fourth genre, which refers to any kind of prose writing that is based on facts and deals with real people, things, events, and places. The story must conform to what is true and cannot be manipulated by the writer’s imagination. Major goals of nonfiction prose are truth in reporting and logic in reasoning.
The distinction between fiction and non-fiction has become blurred in recent years. Fictionists frequently base their stories on real-life scenarios and imagined characters, and historians often inserted fictional conversations to convey historical figures' thoughts or views. This genre of writing is called creative non-fiction. It is a form of writing that incorporates literary styles and techniques to construct factual stories.
THE LANGUAGE OF LITERATURE
As to language, literature can be divided into three forms: prose, verse, and poetic prose.
Prose is the most typical form of language. It is a type of language that uses ordinary linguistic structure and natural speech flow rather than metrical structure. Novels, short stories, essays, fable, folk tale, legend, myth, narrative, saga, and science fiction are examples of prose fiction.
On the other hand, a verse is a type of language in which language is used for its artistic and suggestive qualities in addition to its apparent meaning. Examples of verse include poems and songs.
Finally, poetic prose is a type of language that uses prose and verse at the same time. When a literary piece is written with special attention to its beauty and special attention to its meaning, then the language used is called "poetic prose."
THE STANDARDS OF LITERATURE
Like all other art forms, literature has certain criteria by which all texts can be measured for evaluation. In A Study of Literary Types and Forms, Garcia, Rosales, and Barranco (1993) distinguish the following attributes of great literature, namely:
1. Artistry. This is a quality which appeals to our sense of beauty.
2. Intellectual Value. A literary work stimulates thought. It enriches our mental life by making us realize fundamental truths about ourselves, about other human beings, and about the world around.
3. Suggestiveness. This is the quality associated with the emotional power of literature. Great literature moves us deeply and stirs our feeling and imagination, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plain of ordinary life and experience.
4. Spiritual Value. Literature elevates the spirit by bringing out moral values which makes us a better person. The capacity to inspire is part of the spiritual value of literature.
5. Permanence. A great work of literature endures. It can be read again and again as each reading gives fresh delight and new insights and opens new worlds of meaning and experience. Its appeal is lasting.
6. Universality. Great literature is timeless and timely. It is forever relevant and appeals to one and all, anytime, anywhere because it deals with elemental feelings, fundamental truths, and universal conditions.
7. Style. This is the peculiar way in which a writer sees life, forms his ideas and expresses them. Great literary works are marked as much by their memorable substance as well as by their distinctive style. Style should suit content. (Garcia, C., Rosales, P., & Barranco, C., 1993)
To these seven qualities of great literature, we should add an eight aspect equally essential to literature, i.e.:
8. Form. It is the design of the work as a whole, the configuration of all its parts. The “form” answers the question “how”: how well the work is made, how well the work is written or how well the work is done. In a literary work, nothing is by accident. Even the smallest detail is an artistic decision made by the author. Every element in a literary work ought to contribute to the effectiveness and beauty of the whole.
DEFINING FICTION
Fiction is a term used to describe creative prose work. It is an imagined story, usually written down, that the author tells in ordinary, natural language. It chiefly uses an array of narrative techniques and has a wide range in terms of length. It deals, in part or whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, invented and imaginary – that is, made up by the author. Examples of prose fiction works include novels, novellas, short stories, fables, fairy tales, legends, myths, etc. but it now also encompasses films, comic books, and video games.
TYPES OF FICTION
Literary and commercial fiction are the two main types of fiction.
Commercial fiction attracts a bigger audience, while literary fiction appears to attract a smaller, more imaginative audience.
Another way of categorizing prose fiction is to look at genre or style. Here are some examples of prose fiction by type:
1. Novel
A novel is a "fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes." (Novel – dictionary.com, 2020)
2. Novella
A novella is a written fictitious prose story, less than a novel, yet longer and more complicated than a short story. Examples of novella include John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", George Orwell's "Animal Farm", Ayn Rand's "Anthem", Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness", Franz Kafka's "Metamorphosis", Saul Bellow's "Seize the Day", Thomas Mann's "Death in Venice", Gabriel Garcia Marquez's "Chronicle of a Death Foretold", Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Notes from Underground", Truman Capote’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” and Herman Melville's "Billy Budd: A Sailor".
3. Short Story
According to the American poet and fictionist Edgar Allan Poe, the short story is "a piece of fiction dealing with a single incident – material or spiritual – that can be read at a sitting. It is original; it must sparkle, excite, or impress; it must have unity of effect or impression, and it must move in an even line from its exposition up to its close." (Poe, 1846)
A short story can be a fable or a parable, real or fantasy, a true presentation or a parody, sentimental or sarcastic, serious in intent, or a light-hearted diversion. It can be any of these, but to be memorable, it must catch the eternal in casual, invest a moment with the immensity of time.