Description

Literature, in its broadest sense, isanysingle body of written works. More restrictively, it iswritingconsidered as an art form, or any single writing deemed tohaveartistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying languageinways that differ from ordinary usage.

Its Latin root literatura/litteratura (derived itself fromlittera:letter or handwriting) was used to refer to all writtenaccounts,though contemporary definitions extend the term to includetextsthat are spoken or sung (oral literature).

Literature can be classified according to whether it is fictionornon-fiction and whether it is poetry or prose; it can befurtherdistinguished according to major forms such as the novel,shortstory or drama; and works are often categorized accordingtohistorical periods or their adherence to certain aestheticfeaturesor expectations (genre).

There have been various attempts to define "literature". SimonandDelyse Ryan begin their attempt to answer the question "WhatisLiterature?" with the observation:

The quest to discover a definition for "literature" is a roadthatis much travelled, though the point of arrival, if everreached, isseldom satisfactory. Most attempted definitions arebroad andvague, and they inevitably change over time. In fact, theonlything that is certain about defining literature is thatthedefinition will change. Concepts of what is literature changeovertime as well.

Definitions of literature have varied over time; it is a"culturallyrelative definition". In Western Europe prior to theeighteenthcentury, literature as a term indicated all books andwriting. Amore restricted sense of the term emerged during theRomanticperiod, in which it began to demarcate"imaginative"literature.

Contemporary debates over what constitutes literature can be seenasreturning to the older, more inclusive notion of whatconstitutesliterature. Cultural studies, for instance, takes asits subject ofanalysis both popular and minority genres, inaddition to canonicalworks.

Literary genre is a mode of categorising literature. Thetermoriginates from French, designating a proposed type orclass.However, such classes are subject to change, and have beenused indifferent ways in different periods and traditions.

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