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Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published source.

Literally
translated, the word literature means "acquaintance with letters" (as in the "arts and letters"). They are writings in which expression and form, in connection withideas of permanent and universal int erest, are characteristicor essential features, as poetry, prose, novels, history, biography and essays, in short the the entire body of writings of a specific language, period,people etc. The two major classification of literature are poetry and prose. Poetry is the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, forexciting pleasure by beautiful, imagin ative, or elevated thoughts, whereas Prose is the art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, forexciting pleasure by beautiful, imagin ative, or elevated thoughts. Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction. "Literature" is sometimes differentiated from popular and ephemeral classes of writing. Terms such as "literary fiction" and "literary merit" are used to distinguish individual works as artliterature rather than vernacular writing, and some critics exclude works from being "literary", for example, on grounds of weak or faulty style, use of slang, poor characterization and shallow or contrived construction. Others exclude all genres such as romance, crime and mystery, science fiction, horror and fantasy. In ancient India, literature originated from stories that were originally orally transmitted. Early genres included drama, fables, sutras and epic poetry. Literature represents a language or a people: culture and tradition. But, literature is more important than just a historical or cultural artifact. Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn about books and literature; we enjoy the comedies and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow and evolve through our literary journey with books. Ultimately, we learn to discover meaning in literature by looking at what the author says and the manner in which he/she says it. We may interpret the author's message in other words. In academic circles, this decoding of the text is often carried out through the use of literary theory, using a mythological, sociological, psychological, historical, or other approach. Whatever be the 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.

"Literature always anticipates life. It does not copy it, but moulds it to its purpose Oscar Wilde

Name : Rajoshree Chatterjee Course : B.A English, 5 semester


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Roll no : H - 133 Subject : World Literature Teacher : Dr. B. Sherin University : The English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.

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