GELIT

• Not all written texts are literature in the strict sense of the term
• Literature tends to change our understanding of the world and offers delectation
• Raymond Chandler stated that when a book reaches a certain intensity of artistic performance, it becomes literature
• Style is the personal artistic imprint that writers confer on their work
• Writers evolve a style of their own to establish their identity in the community of writers
• Literature presents a heightened sense of the human condition and has an ennobling quality
• Literature is a mirror of life, reflecting struggles, sorrow, joy, and giving a heroic quality to overcoming challenges
• Literature helps us grow personally and intellectually by reflecting human experiences
• Literature links us with the world, helping us understand different cultures and traditions
• Literature enables us to transcend our immediate time, place, and culture and make connections with other human beings and their concerns
• Literature encourages us to develop mature empathy with all forms of life - human, animal, and plant
• Literature sharpens our sense of moral judgment by delineating distinctions between right and wrong
• Literature stimulates our imagination and ingenuity, fueling creativity
• Literature shows the significance of irony, paradox, oxymoron, and ambivalence
• Literature allows us to see the world in different vantage points, enabling us to perceive things from various perspectives
• Literature relives history, making readers aware of important facts from the past
• Literature reminds us that we are human beings, with limitations and imperfections, but with the capacity to learn and grow
• Literature is classified into four genres: Prose Fiction, Poetry, and Drama
• Prose Fiction includes myths, legends, parables, fables, fairy tales, short stories, novels, and novellas
• Poetry includes lyric poetry, narrative poetry, and dramatic poetry
• Drama includes tragedy and tragicomedy
• Tragicomedy blends aspects of tragedy and comedy
• In English literature from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy refers to a serious play with a happy ending
• Melodrama combines music to increase emotional response or suggest character types
• Comedy depicts humorous incidents where protagonists face moderate difficulties but overcome them for a happy ending
• Comic protagonists are comfortable with society or become so, and their success is brought about through cooperation with others
• High comedy arouses intellectual amusement and engages emotions, while low comedy appeals more to emotions than intellect
• Satirical Comedy ridicules human folly and associated political, social, or moral problems
• Comedy of Manners depicts romantic intrigues of a sophisticated upper class with witty repartee and humorous social blundering
• Romantic Comedy involves idealized romantic love
• Black Comedy induces laughter as a defense mechanism in horrifying situations
• Farce depends on ridiculous situations, exaggerated character types, coarse humor, and horseplay for comic effects
• Nonfiction Prose presents factual information or expresses a viewpoint
• Autobiography is a biography written by the person themselves
• Biography is a personal account of a person's life written by another person
• Character Sketch is an abbreviated portrayal emphasizing a particular characteristic of people
• Diary or Journal is a daily record of events in a person's life
• Editorial is a statement or article expressing the opinion of the editor, editorial board, or publisher
• Essay is a brief work of nonfiction offering an opinion on a subject
• Critical Approaches in Studying Literature