LIT Introduction to Literature

• Literature

  -Derived from the Latin word littera, “a letter of the alphabet,” literature is first and foremost humankind's entire body of writing; after that it is the body of writing belonging to a given language or people; then it is individual pieces of writing.
• Literature

  -It has traditionally been applied to those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution.
• Literature

  -It is therefore a creation of human experiences that tells about people and their world.
• Literature

  -Literature is a form of human expression. But not everything expressed in words—even when organized and written down—is counted as literature.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  1. Permanence - Determined by a written work’s ability to stand the test of time, which makes it impossible to determine at the moment of writing.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  2. Universality

  -Appeals to the hearts and minds of almost any reader.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  3. Artistry

  -Aesthetically appealing and reveals or conveys hidden truth and beauty.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  4. Suggestiveness

  -Allows the work to inspire and provoke thoughts and understanding beyond the actual words written on the page.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  5. Intellectual Value

  -Promotes critical thinking that enhances both abstract and reason-based thought processes and makes readers focus on the fundamental truths of life and nature.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  6. Spiritual Value

  -Lifts the inner spirit and soul and has the power to motivate and inspire readers.
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  7. Style

  Refers to the distinct way the author expresses his or her thoughts.
• FUNCTIONS OF LITERATURE ACCORDING TO HORACE

  1. Dulce (Sweetness)

  -To Entertain, to delight the audience

  2. Utile (Usefulness)

  -To instruct, to inform the audience
• FUNCTIONS OF LITERATURE

  -As an art, literature might be described as the organization of words to give pleasure. Yet through words literature elevates and transforms experience beyond “mere” pleasure. Literature also functions more broadly in society as a means of both criticizing and affirming cultural values.
• CIRILO F. BAUTISTA

  -“Literature raises life to a new level of meaning and understanding, and in the process restores sanity and justice in an insane and unjust world.”
• J.F. LORIA

  -“Perhaps what makes literature a more delightful and enriching study than the rest that deal with the past is its potential of making readers identify with what they read through values learned.”
• DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE

  =TYPES

  1. Oral

  -Through word of mouth

  2. Written

  -Through writing
• FORMS/GENRES

  1. Poetry

  -Uses metrical language with lots of rhythm and rhyme to create word pictures. Poetry employs all kinds of wordplay, figurative language, and imagery to send its messages, which are often rather obscure and need to be dug out with some effort on the part of the reader.
• Types of Poetry

  1. Lyric

  -Originally sung or recited with a musical instrument, called a lyre

  -Personal experience, close relationships, and description of feelings as their material

  2. Narrative

  -Story telling from ritualistic chanting of myths

  -Stories were not memorized as is generally assumed but instead bards improvised oral chants, relying on heavy alliterative and assonantal techniques
• Lyric Poems

  1. Elegy

  -A reflective poem to honor the dead

  2. Sonnet

  -An elevated poem that pays tribute to a person, idea, place, or another concept

  3. Ode

  A descriptive fourteen-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme

  4. Haiku

  -A seventeen-syllable poem that uses natural imagery to express an emotion
• Narrative poems

  1. Ballad

  -Narrative poetry set to music

  2. Epic

  -A lengthy poem that tells a story of heroic adventures

  3. Metrical Tale

  -Topics vary from romance, the quest for adventure, love, and various phase

  4. Metrical Romance

  -Also called chivalric poems
• FORMS/GENRES

  2. Fictional Prose

  -Written in ordinary, non-metrical language, but it is the product of the writer's imagination. The meaning of fictional works can stretch all the way from obscure and difficult to clear and direct
• Types of Fictional Prose

  1. Short Story

  -Marked by relative shortness and density, organized into a plot and with dénouement at the end. The plot may be comic, tragic, romantic, or satiric. It may be written in the mode of fantasy, realism or naturalism

  2. Novel

  -An extended work of prose fiction

  -Denotes a prose narrative about characters and their actions in what is recognizably everyday life
• FORMS/GENRES

  3. Nonfictional Prose

  -Written in ordinary, non-metrical language and communication facts or opinions about reality. Nonfiction meanings are usually straightforward because the writer's primary purpose is to convey information or persuade readers
• Types of Nonfictional Prose

  1. Biographical Narratives

  -Profile

  -Character Sketch

  -Interview

  2. Autobiographical Narratives

  -Autobiography

  -Memoir or Creative non-fiction

  -Special types include Travel writing, Food writing, Nature writing

  -Diaries and Journals
• Types of Nonfictional Prose

  3. Other Types

  -Literary reportage or literary journalism

  -Essays (descriptive and reflective essays, etc.)

  4. Emerging Forms of Literature

  -Blogs and Facebook status posts (Note: classification still depends on content; standards of literature should still be applied to gauge their merit)
• FORMS/GENRES

  4. Drama

  -Combines elements of prose and poetry into plays that are usually intended to be performed on stage. Drama joins monologues and dialogues by characters with stage directions and occasionally narrative sections that explain the action. Like Poetry, drama can feature hidden meanings and messages that take some work to decipher
• Types of Drama

  1. Comedy

  -Lighthearted tone

  -Clever wordplay or turns of phrase

  -Serious topics addressed in a humorous way

  -Comical misunderstandings

  -Happy ending

  -Silly, offbeat characters

  -Often ends with a wedding, especially in romantic comedies
• Types of Drama

  2. Farce

  -Exaggerated humor

  -Slapstick gags

  -Nonsensical storyline

  -Improbable events

  -One or two settings

  -Humor is often crude and inappropriate
• Types of Drama

  3. Musical

  -Originally referred to as opera

  -Dramas in which the characters sing and dance while performing

  -The entire production is set to a musical score
• Types of Drama

  4. Melodrama

  -Periods of standard storyline interrupted by songs

  -Dramatic or comedic storylines

  -A sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events intended to appeal to the emotions
• Types of Drama

  5. Tragedy

  -A protagonist with a tragic flaw

  -Circumstances that quickly get out of control – and not in a funny way

  -Darker themes than a melodrama, such as human suffering, hatred, or poverty

  -Features the downfall of a previously heroic or well-liked character

  -An irredeemable ending that results in one or more characters' deaths

  -Reaches a tragic catharsis
• Types of Drama

  6. Tragicomedy

  -A serious storyline told in a humorous, sardonic, or snide way

  -Tragically flawed character whose actions don’t result in death

  -An ambiguous theme

  -Broad characters who act in classically comical ways

  -Neither a happy nor a comic ending
• Importance of Literature

  -Literature is a powerful stress reliever

  -Literature fuels imagination

  -Reading literature improves concentration and focus

  -Reading literature keeps the brain active and healthy

  -Literature expands a person's vocabulary

  -Reading literature improves a person’s writing skills

  -Literature improves a person's communication skills
• Importance of Literature

  -Literature encourages critical thinking

  -Literature teaches readers about history

  -Reading literature can encourage empathy
• 21ST CENTURY THEMES

  1. Identity – Search for identity (including LGBT topics)– Life’s meaning/meaninglessness – Redefining one’s identity

  2. History and memory (including postcolonial viewpoints)

  3. Social evils (war, terrorism, racism, religious conflicts)

  4. Catastrophe (natural and man-made)
• 21ST CENTURY THEMES

  5. Merits and/or perils of technology

  6. Personalization of narratives

  7. Fracturing (retelling from another angle/history)

  8. Effects of commercialism

  9. Diaspora and migration
• WHY LITERATURE BY MARIO VARGAS

  Mario Vargas Llosa

  -Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, (born March 28, 1936, Arequipa, Peru), Peruvian Spanish writer whose commitment to social change is evident in his novels, plays, and essays. In 1990 he was an unsuccessful candidate for president of Peru. Vargas Llosa was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Literature“for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individual’s resistance, revolt, and defeat.”
• LITERARY STANDARDS (WILLIAM J. LONG)

  1. Permanence
  2. Universality
  3. Artistry
  4. Suggestiveness
  5. Intellectual Value
  6. Spiritual Value
  7. Artistry
• DIVISIONS OF LITERATURE

  Types

  1.Oral

  2.Written

  Forms/Genres

  1.Poetry

  2.Fictional Prose

  3.Nonfictional Prose

  4.Drama
• Types of Poetry

  1. Lyric

  2. Narrative