What is literature?

Literature is a term used to describe written and

sometimes spoken material. Derived from the
Latin litteratura meaning "writing formed with
letters," literature most commonly refers to works
of the creative imagination, including poetry,
drama, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and in some
instances, song.
Purpose of Literature

Literature represents the culture and tradition of

a language or a people.
Literature is more than just a historical or
cultural artifact, but can serve as an introduction
to a new world of experience.
Literature is important to us because it speaks to
us, it is universal, and it affects us on a deeply
personal level. Even when it is ugly, literature is
beautiful.
Ref: http://classiclit.about.com/od/literaryterms/g/aa_whatisliter.htm

Literature takes you to a different zone itself. It

is almost magical sometimes. You get an
opportunity to live in a different time, a different
place, a different scenario and among different
people.
Therefore, it can be concluded that reading and
writing of quality literary works helps in the
development of a persons emotions and also in
the development of the communication skills
that are required to be successful in the modern
age.

Ref: https://standardedu.wordpress.com/2012/11/06/literature-and-itsimportance/

TYPES OF LITERATURE
I. PROSE
-is a form of language that has no formal
metrical structure. It applies a natural flow of
speech, and ordinary grammatical structure
rather than rhythmic structure, such as in the
case of traditional poetry.

1. Nonfictional Prose: A literary work that is

mainly based on fact although it may contain
fictional elements in certain cases. Examples are
biographies and essays.
2. Fictional Prose: A literary work that is
wholly or partly imagined or theoretical.
Examples are novels.
3. Heroic Prose: A literary work that may be
written down or recited and employs many of
the formulaic expressions found in oral
tradition. Examples are legends and tales.
4. Prose Poetry: A literary work which exhibits
poetic quality using emotional effects and
heightened imagery but are written in prose
instead of verse.
Ref: http://literarydevices.net/prose/

Characteristics of prose
Characteristics of prose can be broken into four
categories, divided by purpose:
1. Narrative: writing which tells a story (can
be fiction or non-fiction); usually told in
chronological order; has characters; follows
the basic plot-line - exposition, rising action,
climax, falling action.
2. Expository: gives basic information; used
often in speeches and essays; does not tell a
story or argue.
3. Descriptive: describes something in detail,
again without telling a story or arguing a
point; used most often in combination with
another mode of writing, but alone is often
found in scientific or medical reports.
4. Persuasive: argues a point (or two sides of a
question); gives evidence in favor or against.
Ref: http://www.enotes.com/homework-help/definition-prose-kindsprose-element-prose-191041

Some Common Types of Prose

Espinosa, Velmer Jr. P.
BSBA- MM 4-2D

A. Fiction
- A work of fiction is created in the
imagination of its author. The author invents the
story and makes up the characters, the plot or
storyline, the dialogue and sometimes even the
setting. A fictional work does not claim to tell a
true story. Instead, it immerses us in experiences
that we may never have in real life, introduces
us to types of people we may never otherwise
meet and takes us to places we may never visit
in any other way.
Types of Fiction:
1. Short Story
-According to the famous short story
writer Edgar Allan Poe, a short story is a
piece of fiction that can be read in one
sitting of about a half hour to about two
hours. Short stories contain between 1,000
and 20,000 words and typically run no more
than 25 or 30 pages. Because of their limited
length, short stories generally focus on one
major plot or storyline and a few characters.
2. Novella
-Novellas are longer than short
stories and tend to run about 20,000 to
50,000 words, usually between 60 and 120
pages. Because novellas have more room to
work with, they typically have a more
complex plot or storyline and more
characters than short stories. Famous
novellas
include
Robert
Louis
Stevenson's The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde and Jack London's The Call of
the Wild.
3. Novel

-A novel is a work of fiction that

contains over 50,000 words or 120 pages.
Novels are even more complex than
novellas, and they usually have more than
one plot or storyline and many welldeveloped characters. Novels can be as long
as their authors want them to be. There is no
outer limit to their length. In fact, the longest
novel ever written is a 17th century work
that contains over two million words and
more than 13,000 pages. Believe it or not,

the book was very popular with the readers

of its day.
Ref: http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-fictiondefinition-types.html

B. Non-fiction
-is prose writing that presents and explains
ideas or that tells about real people, places,
objects, or events. It is an account or
representation of a subject which is presented as
fact. This presentation may be accurate or not;
that is, it can give either a true or a false account
of the subject in question. However, it is
generally assumed that the authors of such
accounts believe them to be truthful at the time
of
their
composition. Autobiographies,
biographies, essays, reports, letters, memos, and
newspaper articles are all types of nonfiction.
Types of Non-Fiction
There are four main types, or modes, of
nonfiction that are defined by their purposes.
Narrative nonfiction tells stories of real-life
events. Examples include autobiographies and
memoirs. Some narrative nonfiction is reflective
writing, which shares the writers thoughts and
feelings about a personal experience, an idea, or
a concern. Examples include reflective essays,
personal essays, and journals.
Expository nonfiction informs or explains.
Examples include analytical essays and research
reports.
Persuasive nonfiction presents reasons and
evidence to convince the reader to act or think
in a certain way. Examples include editorials
and political speeches.
Descriptive nonfiction uses details related to the
senses to create mental images for the reader.
Examples include character sketches and
scientific observations.

Espinosa, Velmer Jr. P.

BSBA- MM 4-2D

Specific Types of Non-Fiction

Almanac

Essay

Speech

AutobiographyHistory

Statute

Biography

Journal

Textbook

Blueprint

Journalism

Travelogue

Book report

Letter

User manual

Creative
nonfiction

Literary criticism
Memoir

Design
document

Nonfictional character

Diagram

Philosophy

Diary

Photograph

Dictionary

Science book

Documentary Scientific paper

film
Encyclopedia
Ref:
http://www.misshannigan.com/Genre/nonfiction/nonfictionnotes
.html

Discussion of a topic
Can tell a lot about the author
Express authors personal feelings
Articles
Small in length
Focus on the facts of a subject
Express an authors bias their strong
opinions on a topic
Ref:
http://www.mfschools.org/user/woodhala/students/6typesofnonfi
ction.pdf

II. POETRY
-Poetry is
a
form
of literature that
uses aesthetic and rhythmic qualities of language
such
as phonaesthetics, sound
symbolism,
and metreto evoke meanings in addition to, or in
place of, the prosac ostensible meaning.
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poetry

A. Narrative Poetry
- gives a verbal representation, in verse, of a
sequence of connected events, it propels
characters through a plot. It is always told by a
narrator. Narrative poems might tell of a love
story (like Tennyson's Maud), the story of a
father and son (like Wordsworth's Michael) or
the deeds of a hero or heroine (likeWalter
Scott's Lay of the Last Minstrel).

Common Forms of Nonfiction

Sub-categories of narrative poetry:
Letters and Journals Contain personal
thoughts and reflections
Biographies The life story of someone written
by another person
Autobiographies The writers account of
his/her own life
Memoirs The writers record of experiences
from of his/her own life
Media Accounts Works written for
newspapers, magazines, television, or radio
Essays
Medium in length

1. Epics usually operate on a large scale, both

in length and topic, such as the founding of a
nation (Virgils Aeneid) or the beginning of
world history (Miltons Paradise Lost), they
tend to use an elevated style of language and
supernatural beings take part in the action.
2. The mock-epic makes
use
of
epic
conventions, like the elevated style and the
assumption that the topic is of great
importance, to deal with completely
insignificant occurrences. A famous example
is Pope's The Rape of the Lock, which tells
the story of a young beauty whose suitor
secretly cuts off a lock of her hair.
Espinosa, Velmer Jr. P.
BSBA- MM 4-2D

3. A ballad is a song, originally transmitted

orally, which tells a story. It is an important
form of folk poetry which was adapted for
literary uses from the sixteenth century
onwards. The ballad stanza is usually a fourline stanza, alternating tetrameter and
trimeter.
B. Lyric Poetry
-is a comparatively short, non-narrative
poem in which a single speaker presents a state
of mind or an emotional state. Lyric poetry
retains some of the elements of song which is
said to be its origin: For Greek writers the lyric
was a song accompanied by the lyre.
Subcategories of the lyric are, for example
elegy, ode, sonnet and dramatic monologue and
most occasional poetry:
1. The sonnet was originally a love poem
which dealt with the lovers sufferings and
hopes. It originated in Italy and became
popular in England in the Renaissance,
when Thomas Wyatt and the Earl of
Surrey translated and imitated the sonnets
written by Petrarch (Petrarchan sonnet).
From the seventeenth century onwards the
sonnet was also used for other topics than
love, for instance for religious experience
(by Donne and Milton), reflections on art
(by Keats or Shelley) or even the war
experience
(by Brooke or Owen).
The
sonnet uses a single stanza of (usually)
fourteen lines and an intricate rhyme pattern
(see stanza forms). Many poets wrote a
series of sonnets linked by the same theme,
so-called sonnet
cycles (for
instance
Petrarch, Spenser, Shakespeare, Drayton, Ba
rret-Browning, Meredith) which depict the
various stages of a love relationship.
2. In modern usage, elegy is a formal lament
for the death of a particular person (for
example Tennysons In Memoriam A.H.H.).
More broadly defined, the term elegy is also

used for solemn meditations, often on

questions of death, such as Gray's Elegy
Written in a Country Churchyard.
3. An ode is a long lyric poem with a serious
subject written in an elevated style. Famous
examples
are Wordsworths Hymn
to
Duty or Keats Ode to a Grecian Urn.
4. In a dramatic monologue a speaker, who is
explicitly someone other than the author,
makes a speech to a silent auditor in a
specific situation and at a critical moment.
Without intending to do so, the speaker
reveals aspects of his temperament and
character.
In Browning's My
Last
Duchess for instance, the Duke shows the
picture of his last wife to the emissary from
his prospective new wife and reveals his
excessive pride in his position and his
jealous temperament.
5. Occasional poetry is written for a specific
occasion: a wedding (then it is called
anepithalamion,
for
instance Spensers Epithalamion), the return
of
a
king
from
exile
(for
instance Drydens Annus Mirabilis) or a
death (for example MiltonsLycidas), etc.
Ref: http://www2.anglistik.unifreiburg.de/intranet/englishbasics/PoetryTypes01.htm\

C. Dramatic Poetry
- Dramatic poetry, also known as dramatic
verse or verse drama, is a written work that both
tells a story and connects the reader to an
audience through emotions or behavior. A form
of narrative closely related to acting, it usually
is performed physically and can be either
spoken or sung. Normally, it uses a set rhyming
or meter pattern, setting it apart from prose.
Ref: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-dramatic-poetry.htm

Types:
Espinosa, Velmer Jr. P.
BSBA- MM 4-2D

1. Tragedy- drama that has a tragic ending just like

the death of the leading characters. (e.g. "Romeo &
Juliet", "Macbeth" and "Hamlet")
2. Comedy- drama which seeks to amuse/entertain.
The purpose is "to make audience laugh" (e.g.
"comedy of errors", "The tempest", and "The
Midsummer
night
dream")
3. Dramatic Monologue- one-sided conversations;
speech is given by one character; the thought,
emotions of the speaker are revealed through his
action. (e.g. "My Last Duchess")

poetry usually shows up during critical

moments in the plot.
3. With a character sketch, a writers main
goal is to make the audience feel something
for the character, rather than to move the
plot along. The feeling can be sympathy,
hatred or anything in between, but the result
is usually that a person watching the play
becomes emotionally connected to what is
going on, creating a more memorable theater
experience. The individual delivering the
lines serves the main role of observer.
Ref: http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-dramatic-poetry.htm

Ref:
http://www.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_types_of_dramatic_p
oetry

Forms:
Dramatic poetry can take one of several forms:
soliloquy, dramatic monologue, character sketch
and dialogue.
1. In a soliloquy, a character speaks mainly to
himself, not interacting with anyone else. It
typically is a good way to quickly show
what he thinks, wants or is going to do,
because it gives insights into his mind.
Perhaps the best example comes from
William Shakespeares tragic play, Hamlet,
in which Hamlet questions whether it is
better to live or die.
2. A dramatic monologue is very similar to a
soliloquy in that it reveals something about
the speaking character. The main difference
is that, here, the actor is talking to someone
else in the play, not just himself. This second
person doesnt say anything, but their
presence often makes the speech a little bit
more believable. This type of dramatic
Espinosa, Velmer Jr. P.
BSBA- MM 4-2D