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Literature is defined as “any written work.” It came from the word Latin term
literatura which refers to all written accounts. It can be expounded as the verbal
expression of man’s affection as acted upon in its relationship with the material world,
society and his Creator. The expression being varied as the moods that passed over his
soul whether they speak of love or hatred; of joy or sorrow or of fear or hope. It is safe
then to conclude that literature includes even those which are uttered or sung.
There are two functions of literature according to Horace, these are dulce and
utile. Dulce
means "sweetness". It should appeal to "human pleasure" or to the emotional aspect, or
simply to entertain. Utile means "usefulness". It should appeal to "human intellect;" or it
draws application to life.
Some include movere which means "to move". It should appeal to "human imagination;"
igniting the soul of the reader.
The language that is used by literature differ from ordinary spoken or written
language. Literature uses special words, structures, and characteristics. Primarily the
language of literature differs from ordinary language in three ways: (1) language is
concentrated and meaningful, (2) its purpose is not simply to explain, argue, or make a
point but rather to give a sense of pleasure in the discovery of a new experience, and
(3) it demands intense concentration from the readers. It indicates that the language of
literature has originality, quality, creativity, and pleasure.
The bible is an array of historical recollection of the life of Israelites including the
story of David and Goliath. This is story where a small boy defeats a giant. How is this
story relevant? It gives hope to man that nothing is impossible as long as one has faith
in his Creator. It touches the emotional wire of anyone who reads it even if they are not
Israelites. This is how universal literature is. The story of David and Goliath provokes
man to feel something rather than to think about the peculiarity of such event.
Literary works have themes. Literature is not only about human ideas, thoughts,
and feelings but also about experiences of the authors. Literature can be medium for
human to communicate what they feel, think, experience to the readers.
A theme is a central idea or insight about life, human behaviour that a story
reveals. A theme may or may not be stated directly. It is difficult for man to understand
something if he does not know what he is looking for. Sometimes, the theme of a story
is revealed through the characters.
It is said that a theme is not a summary of the story: that is not what the text is
‘about’; nor is it a special subject you have to search for. There are certain types of
experiences which are common to all men everywhere. Literature is about ordinary life,
so the big themes in literature are the important subjects and experiences of our public
and private lives: they are the ordinary and common words in our everyday thoughts
and conversations, like love, death, marriage, freedom, hope, despair, power, war,
revenge, evil, and so on.
As discussed previously, there is a variety of techniques or methods on how
literature is presented. Take for example, horror and mystery. These kinds of stories
evoke feelings of fear and mystery. Another is realistic fiction. These are stories that
could actually “happen” in real life. Non-fiction, on the contrary, is an account of real
people and events.
Fiction is a writing style that tells about imaginary things and events. Historical
fiction are stories with fictional character and events in a historical setting whereas
scientific fiction are stories based on imagined inventions, space travel or life in other
worlds which are usually set in the future. Distinctively, fantasy is a story where the
writer creates a magical world where anything can happen.
Fables are short stories usually with animal characters that teach a lesson about
what is important in life. Folk tales, on the other hand, are stories told from generation to
generation usually by word of mouth. It sometimes varies in versions depending on the
region where it is told.
Myths, legends, tall tales and fairy tales have one thing in common which is
magic and enchantment. However, they are also distinct from one another. Myths are
stories about early people’s ways to explain the universe. These include gods and
goddesses and their way of life. Legends are stories that old people tell as a “true story”
but sometimes the details are difficult to confirm. Tall tales are stories about an
extraordinary person, the main character, who is usually better at things than an
ordinary person. Fairy tales are stories about princesses which often begin with “once
upon a time” or “long long ago” and has happy endings.