Literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written
works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with
letters" (from Latin littera letter). In Western culture the most basic
written literary types include fiction and non-fiction
The word "literature" has
different meanings depending on who is using it. It could be applied broadly to
mean any symbolic record, encompassing everything from images and sculptures to
letters. In a more narrow sense the term could mean only text composed of
letters, or other examples of symbolic written language (Egyptian hieroglyphs,
for example). An even more narrow interpretation is that text have a physical
form, such as on paper or some other portable form, to the exclusion of
inscriptions or digital media. The Muslim scholar and philosopher Imam Ja'far
al-Sadiq (702-765 AD) defined Literature as follows: "Literature is the
garment which one puts on what he says or writes so that it may appear more
attractive."[1] added that literature is a slice of life that has been
given direction and meaning, an artistic interpretation of the world according
to the percipient's point of views. Frequently, the texts that make up
literature crossed over these boundaries. Russian Formalist Roman Jakobson
defines literature as "organized violence committed on ordinary
speech", highlighting literature's deviation from the day-to-day and
conversational structure of words. Illustrated stories, hypertexts, cave
paintings and inscribed monuments have all at one time or another pushed the
boundaries of "literature."
People may perceive a difference
between "literature" and some popular forms of written work. The
terms "literary fiction" and "literary merit" often serve
to distinguish between individual works. For example, almost all literate
people perceive the works of Charles Dickens as "literature," whereas
some critics[citation needed] look down on the works of Jeffrey Archer as
unworthy of inclusion under the general heading of "English
literature." Critics may exclude works from the classification
"literature," for example, on the grounds of a poor standard of
grammar and syntax, of an unbelievable or disjointed story-line, or of
inconsistent or unconvincing characters. Genre fiction (for example: romance,
crime, or science fiction) may also become excluded from consideration as
"literature."
History
One of the earliest known literary
works is the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem dated around 2700 B.C.,
which deals with themes of heroism, friendship, loss, and the quest for eternal
life. Different historical periods have emphasized various characteristics of
literature. Early works often had an overt or covert religious or didactic
purpose. Moralizing or prescriptive literature stems from such sources. The
exotic nature of romance flourished from the Middle Ages onwards, whereas the
Age of Reason manufactured nationalistic epics and philosophical tracts.
Romanticism emphasized the popular folk literature and emotive involvement, but
gave way in the 19th-century West to a phase of realism and naturalism,
investigations into what is real. The 20th century brought demands for
symbolism or psychological insight in the delineation and development of
character.
Poetry
A poem is defined as a composition
written in verse (although verse has been equally used for epic and dramatic
fiction). Poems rely heavily on imagery, precise word choice, and metaphor;
they may take the form of measures consisting of patterns of stresses (metric
feet) or of patterns of different-length syllables (as in classical prosody);
and they may or may not utilize rhyme. One cannot readily characterize poetry
precisely. Typically though, poetry as a form of literature makes some
significant use of the formal properties of the words it uses — the properties
attached to the written or spoken form of the words, rather than to their
meaning. Metre depends on syllables and on rhythms of speech; rhyme and
alliteration depend on words
Poetry perhaps pre-dates other forms
of literature: early known examples include the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh
(dated from around 2700 B.C.), parts of the Bible, the surviving works of Homer
(the Iliad and the Odyssey), and the Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. In
cultures based primarily on oral traditions the formal characteristics of
poetry often have a mnemonic function, and important texts: legal, genealogical
or moral, for example, may appear first in verse form.
Some poetry uses specific forms: the
haiku, the limerick, or the sonnet, for example. A traditional haiku written in
Japanese must have something to do with nature, contain seventeen onji
(syllables), distributed over three lines in groups of five, seven, and five,
and should also have a kigo, a specific word indicating a season. A limerick
has five lines, with a rhyme scheme of AABBA, and line lengths of 3,3,2,2,3
stressed syllables. It traditionally has a less reverent attitude towards
nature. Poetry not adhering to a formal poetic structure is called "free
verse"
Language and tradition dictate some
poetic norms: Persian poetry always rhymes, Greek poetry rarely rhymes, Italian
or French poetry often does, English and German can go either way (although
modern non-rhyming poetry often, perhaps unfairly, has a more
"serious" aura). Perhaps the most paradigmatic style of English
poetry, blank verse, as exemplified in works by Shakespeare and by Milton,
consists of unrhymed iambic pentameters. Some languages prefer longer lines;
some shorter ones. Some of these conventions result from the ease of fitting a
specific language's vocabulary and grammar into certain structures, rather than
into others; for example, some languages contain more rhyming words than
others, or typically have longer words. Other structural conventions come about
as the result of historical accidents, where many speakers of a language
associate good poetry with a verse form preferred by a particular skilled or
popular poet.
Works for theatre (see below)
traditionally took verse form. This has now become rare outside opera and
musicals, although many would argue that the language of drama remains
intrinsically poetic.
In recent years, digital poetry has
arisen that takes advantage of the artistic, publishing, and synthetic
qualities of digital media.
Prose
Prose consists of writing that does
not adhere to any particular formal structures (other than simple grammar);
"non-poetic" writing, perhaps. The term sometimes appears
pejoratively, but prosaic writing simply says something without necessarily
trying to say it in a beautiful way, or using beautiful words. Prose writing
can of course take beautiful form; but less by virtue of the formal features of
words (rhymes, alliteration, metre) but rather by style, placement, or
inclusion of graphics. But one need not mark the distinction precisely, and
perhaps cannot do so. One area of overlap is "prose poetry", which
attempts to convey using only prose, the aesthetic richness typical of poetry.
Essays
An essay consists of a discussion of
a topic from an author's personal point of view, exemplified by works by
Francis Bacon or by Charles Lamb.
'Essay' in English derives from the
French 'essai', meaning 'attempt'. Thus one can find open-ended, provocative
and/or inconclusive essays. The term "essays" first applied to the
self-reflective musings of Michel de Montaigne, and even today he has a
reputation as the father of this literary form.
Genres related to the essay may
include:
the memoir, telling the story of an
author's life from the author's personal point of view
the epistle: usually a formal,
didactic, or elegant letter.
Fiction
Narrative fiction (narrative prose)
generally favours prose for the writing of novels, short stories, graphic
novels, and the like. Singular examples of these exist throughout history, but
they did not develop into systematic and discrete literary forms until
relatively recent centuries. Length often serves to categorize works of prose
fiction. Although limits remain somewhat arbitrary, modern publishing
conventions dictate the following:
A Mini Saga is a short story of
exactly 50 words
A Flash fiction is generally defined
as a piece of prose under a thousand words.
A short story comprises prose
writing of between 1000 and 20,000 words (but typically more than 500 words),
which may or may not have a narrative arc.
A story containing between 20,000
and 50,000 words falls into the novella category.
A work of fiction containing more
than 50,000 words falls squarely into the realm of the novel.
A novel consists simply of a long
story written in prose, yet the form developed comparatively recently.
Icelandic prose sagas dating from about the 11th century bridge the gap between
traditional national verse epics and the modern psychological novel. In
mainland Europe, the Spaniard Cervantes wrote perhaps the first influential
novel: Don Quixote, the first part of which was published in 1605 and the
second in 1615. Earlier collections of tales, such as Boccaccio's Decameron and
Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, have comparable forms and would classify as
novels if written today. Earlier works written in Asia resemble even more
strongly the novel as we now think of it — for example, works such as the
Chinese Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the Japanese Tale of Genji by Lady
Murasaki. Compare to The Book of One Thousand and One Nights.
Early novels in Europe did not, at
the time, count as significant literature, perhaps because "mere"
prose writing seemed easy and unimportant. It has become clear, however, that
prose writing can provide aesthetic pleasure without adhering to poetic forms.
Additionally, the freedom authors gain in not having to concern themselves with
verse structure translates often into a more complex plot or into one richer in
precise detail than one typically finds even in narrative poetry. This freedom
also allows an author to experiment with many different literary and
presentation styles — including poetry— in the scope of a single novel.
See Ian Watt's The Rise of the
Novel. [This definition needs expansion]
Other prose literature
Philosophy, history, journalism, and
legal and scientific writings traditionally ranked as literature. They offer
some of the oldest prose writings in existence; novels and prose stories earned
the names "fiction" to distinguish them from factual writing or
nonfiction, which writers historically have crafted in prose.
The "literary" nature of
science writing has become less pronounced over the last two centuries, as advances
and specialization have made new scientific research inaccessible to most
audiences; science now appears mostly in journals. Scientific works of Euclid,
Aristotle, Copernicus, and Newton still possess great value; but since the
science in them has largely become outdated, they no longer serve for
scientific instruction, yet they remain too technical to sit well in most
programmes of literary study. Outside of "history of science"
programmes students rarely read such works. Many books "popularizing"
science might still deserve the title "literature"; history will
tell.
Philosophy, too, has become an
increasingly academic discipline. More of its practitioners lament this
situation than occurs with the sciences; nonetheless most new philosophical
work appears in academic journals. Major philosophers through history—Plato,
Aristotle, Augustine, Descartes, Nietzsche—have become as canonical as any
writers. Some recent philosophy works are argued to merit the title
"literature", such as some of the works by Simon Blackburn; but much
of it does not, and some areas, such as logic, have become extremely technical
to a degree similar to that of mathematics.
A great deal of historical writing
can still rank as literature, particularly the genre known as creative nonfiction.
So can a great deal of journalism, such as literary journalism. However these
areas have become extremely large, and often have a primarily utilitarian
purpose: to record data or convey immediate information. As a result the
writing in these fields often lacks a literary quality, although it often and
in its better moments has that quality. Major "literary" historians
include Herodotus, Thucydides and Procopius, all of whom count as canonical
literary figures.
Law offers a less clear case. Some writings
of Plato and Aristotle, or even the early parts of the Bible, might count as
legal literature. The law tables of Hammurabi of Babylon might count. Roman
civil law as codified in the Corpus Juris Civilis during the reign of Justinian
I of the Byzantine Empire has a reputation as significant literature. The
founding documents of many countries, including the United States Constitution,
can count as literature; however legal writing now rarely exhibits literary
merit.
Game Design Scripts - In essence never
seen by the player of a game and only by the developers and/or publishers, the
audience for these pieces is usually very small. Still, many game scripts
contain immersive stories and detailed worlds making them hidden literary gems.
Most of these fields, then, through
specialization or proliferation, no longer generally constitute
"literature" in the sense under discussion. They may sometimes count
as "literary literature"; more often they produce what one might call
"technical literature" or "professional literature".
Список литературы
Для
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