Defenition about literature
Many defenition about literature according to expert
1. Henry van
Dyke
“Literature consists of those writing which interpret the
meanings of nature and life, in words of charm and power, touched with the
personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent interest.”
2. Imam Ja’far
al-Sadiq (Muslim Scholar and Philosopher)
“Literature is the garment which one puts on what he says or
writes so that it may appear more attractive.”
3. Roman
Jakobson (Russian Formalist)
“Literature is organized violence committed on ordinary
speech”
4. Ezra Pound
“Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to
the utmost possible degree.”
5. Salman
Rushdie
"Literature is where I go to explore the highest and
lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find
not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the
heart."
6. G. K.
Chesterton
“Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity."
7. C. S. Lewis
"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply
describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires
and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have
already become."
8. Henry Miller
“Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things,
literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures,
beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”
9. Alfred North
Whitehead
"It is in literature that the concrete outlook of
humanity receives its expression."
10. E.M. Forster
"What is wonderful about great literature is that it
transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who
wrote."
so, literature is way to express someone about her/his feeling and a term used to describe written or spoken material
The Function of
Studying Literature
Literature represents a language or a
people. Whatever critical
paradigm we use to discuss and analyze literature, there is still an artistic
quality to the works. Literature is important to us because it speaks to us, it
is universal, and it affects us. Even when it is ugly, literature is beautiful.
Advantages of Studying Literature
To benefit from the
insight (wawasan) of others.
To open our minds
to ambiguities of meaning.
To explore other
cultures and beliefs
To appreciate why
individuals are the way they are.
To exercise our
brains.
To teach us to see
individual bias.
To see the tragedy
To further our
mastery of language.
To explore ethical
complexities.
To learn better
ways to behave.
To know we aren't
alone.
To learn to support
our points of view and trust our own interpretations.
To expand our
vocabularies.
Kinds of Literature
a. Poetry
A poem is 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.
b. 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.
c. Essays
An essay consists of a discussion of a
topic from an author's personal point of view, exemplified by works by Michel
de Montaigne or by Charles Lamb.
d.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
e. Drama
A play or drama offers another classical
literary form that has continued to evolve over the years. It generally
comprises chiefly dialogue between characters, and usually aims at dramatic /
theatrical performance (see theatre) rather than at reading.
Ref:
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-literature.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/elements
of-literature.html
http://www.blurtit.com/q252906.html
http://www.freethought-forum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9764