literature.docx
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literature.docx
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literature
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Introduction
abodyofwrittenworks.Thenamehastraditionallybeenappliedtothoseimaginativeworksofpoetryandprosedistinguishedbytheintentionsoftheirauthorsandtheperceivedaestheticexcellenceoftheirexecution.Literaturemaybeclassifiedaccordingtoavarietyofsystems,includinglanguage,nationalorigin,historicalperiod,genre,andsubjectmatter.
Forhistoricaltreatmentofvariousliteratureswithingeographicalregions,seesucharticlesasAfricanliterature;Africantheatre;Oceanicliterature;Westernliterature;CentralAsianarts;SouthAsianarts;andSoutheastAsianarts.Someliteraturesaretreatedseparatelybylanguage,bynation,orbyspecialsubject(e.g.,Arabicliterature,Celticliterature,Latinliterature,Frenchliterature,Japaneseliterature,andbiblicalliterature).
Definitionsofthewordliteraturetendtobecircular.The11theditionofMerriam-Webster'sCollegiateDictionaryconsidersliteraturetobe“writingshavingexcellenceofformorexpressionandexpressingideasofpermanentoruniversalinterest.”The19th-centurycriticWalterPaterreferredto“thematterofimaginativeorartisticliterature”asa“transcript,notofmerefact,butoffactinitsinfinitelyvariedforms.”Butsuchdefinitionsassumethatthereaderalreadyknowswhatliteratureis.Andindeeditscentralmeaning,atleast,isclearenough.DerivingfromtheLatinlittera,“aletterofthealphabet,”literatureisfirstandforemosthumankind'sentirebodyofwriting;afterthatitisthebodyofwritingbelongingtoagivenlanguageorpeople;thenitisindividualpiecesofwriting.
Butalreadyitisnecessarytoqualifythesestatements.Tousethewordwritingwhendescribingliteratureisitselfmisleading,foronemayspeakof“oralliterature”or“theliteratureofpreliteratepeoples.”Theartofliteratureisnotreducibletothewordsonthepage;theyaretheresolelybecauseofthecraftofwriting.Asanart,literaturemightbedescribedastheorganizationofwordstogivepleasure.Yetthroughwordsliteratureelevatesandtransformsexperiencebeyond“mere”pleasure.Literaturealsofunctionsmorebroadlyinsocietyasameansofbothcriticizingandaffirmingculturalvalues.
Ed.
Thescopeofliterature
Literatureisaformofhumanexpression.Butnoteverythingexpressedinwords—evenwhenorganizedandwrittendown—iscountedasliterature.Thosewritingsthatareprimarilyinformative—technical,scholarly,journalistic—wouldbeexcludedfromtherankofliteraturebymost,thoughnotall,critics.Certainformsofwriting,however,areuniversallyregardedasbelongingtoliteratureasanart.Individualattemptswithintheseformsaresaidtosucceediftheypossesssomethingcalledartisticmeritandtofailiftheydonot.Thenatureofartisticmeritislesseasytodefinethantorecognize.Thewriterneednotevenpursueittoattainit.Onthecontrary,ascientificexpositionmightbeofgreatliteraryvalueandapedestrianpoemofnoneatall.
Thepurest(or,atleast,themostintense)literaryformisthelyricpoem,andafteritcomeselegiac,epic,dramatic,narrative,andexpositoryverse.Mosttheoriesofliterarycriticismbasethemselvesonananalysisofpoetry,becausetheaestheticproblemsofliteraturearetherepresentedintheirsimplestandpurestform.Poetrythatfailsasliteratureisnotcalledpoetryatallbutverse.Manynovels—certainlyalltheworld'sgreatnovels—areliterature,buttherearethousandsthatarenotsoconsidered.Mostgreatdramasareconsideredliterature(althoughtheChinese,possessorsofoneoftheworld'sgreatestdramatictraditions,considertheirplays,withfewexceptions,topossessnoliterarymeritwhatsoever).
TheGreeksthoughtofhistoryasoneofthesevenarts,inspiredbyagoddess,themuseClio.Alloftheworld'sclassicsurveysofhistorycanstandasnobleexamplesoftheartofliterature,butmosthistoricalworksandstudiestodayarenotwrittenprimarilywithliteraryexcellenceinmind,thoughtheymaypossessit,asitwere,byaccident.
Theessaywasoncewrittendeliberatelyasapieceofliterature:
itssubjectmatterwasofcomparativelyminorimportance.Todaymostessaysarewrittenasexpository,informativejournalism,althoughtherearestillessayistsinthegreattraditionwhothinkofthemselvesasartists.Now,asinthepast,someofthegreatestessayistsarecriticsofliterature,drama,andthearts.
Somepersonaldocuments(autobiographies,diaries,memoirs,andletters)rankamongtheworld'sgreatestliterature.Someexamplesof
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