WEEK1 (1) intro to 21st century

• Literature is an art of self-expression
• Literature means "an acquaintance with letters" and in Latin, "littera" means an individual written character
• Literature represents a language or people, culture or tradition, passion and dignified thoughts
• Literature introduces us to a new world of experience and records the experience of man
• Literature imitates and interprets life through language
• Everything that is written is considered literature
• Importance of Literature
• Literature molds man as a total human being, sympathetic, aware, and sensitive
• Literature educates and entertains, informing us of events in our environment and amusing us with fictitious characters and colorful events
• Literature leads us to understand the life of man and affects us, even when seemingly ugly, it is still beautiful
• Literature enlivens human interest, enriches and colors our imagination
• Literature is an expression of thought, feeling, emotions, and attitudes towards life, shaping our minds and making us changed individuals
• Literature shapes man not only in professional roles but as a person, influencing personality, views, and ideas
• When reading a literary piece, it's important to read with a purpose, not just for the story
• Reading for more than just pleasure is essential
• Avoid reading selections and television or video presentations that focus on sin, crime, and violence, unless done with a good purpose
• Individual titles should be evaluated based on positive principles from Ellen White's writings, promoting peace of mind, moral living, and compassion
• Discriminate between the best and inferior literature
• Focus on things that are true, honest, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8)
• Oral literature includes ballads, myth, jokes, folktales, and fables
• Written literature includes drama, novel, poetry, and nonfictional literature
• Poetry is an artistic piece of philosophical, personal, imaginative, or inspirational nature laid out in lines
• Prose is a literary piece written without metrical structure
• Literature can be classified as fictional or non-fictional
• Fictional literature is a product of one's imaginative mind, including drama, short story, novel, myth, folktale, and poetry
• Non-fictional literature is based on personal experiences, true and factual accounts, including autobiography, biography, essay, literary criticism, journal, newspaper, diary, magazine, etc
• Poem is a composition written in verses with standard measurements and higher artistic beauty
• William Wordsworth describes poem as "the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings in tranquility"
• Elements used in constructing a poem include:

  • Diction (denotation and connotation of words)
  • Imagery
  • Symbolism
  • Figurative language
  • Rhythm and rhyme
• Interpreting poems requires the use of literary approaches and historical backgrounds
• Poems are classified into three types: lyric, narrative, and dramatic
• Lyric poem: short poems expressing personal thoughts or emotions, can be a song, ode, elegy, or sonnet, intended to be sung
• Narrative poem: tells a story, can be a ballad or an epic
• Dramatic poetry: theatrical dialogue performed on stage, can be a tragedy, comedy, melodrama, or tragicomedy
• Short story is a small commercial fiction, true or imaginary, and smaller than a novel
• Structure of a short story:

  • Easy beginning (exposition)
  • Conflict holding the problem (selection)
  • Concrete theme presenting the subject matter
  • Dialogs and actions showing rising action and climax
  • Ends with a resolution
• Examples of short stories include gossip, joke, fable, myth, parable, hearsay, and legend
• Short stories are now written for appreciation and evaluation
• Essay is a literary composition presenting the author's point of view about a particular topic in a detailed way
• Essays have a simple way of narrating the main subject, descriptive, lengthy, subject-oriented, and comparative