Lesson 1 MEANING AND FORMS OF LITERATURE LITERATURE Countries all over the world have their own literatures, as in philosophical or historical periods. In general, one can equate a literature with a collection of stories, poems and plays that revolve around a particular topic. It may or may not have nationalistic implications (Viray et al, 2012). For literature can apply to a broad scope of ideas, this lesson discusses the salient features of literature to have at least a grasp of what it is. WHAT IS LITERATURE? To some, the term literature can apply to any symbolic record, which includes scriptures and images, as well as letters. While to others, it must only include examples of text composed of letters, or other narrowly defined examples of symbolic written language (i.e. hieroglyphs). Even more conservation interpreters of the concept, would demand that the text must have a physical form, usually on paper or some other portable form, to the exclusion of inscriptions or digital media (Viray et al, 2012). Today, with the varied forms that make up literature from cave paintings and inscribed monuments to illustrated stories and hypertext, there truly came a need to push the boundaries of the understanding of “literature.” However, the problem lies with how one can define literature. Eagleton (2008) presented a typical scenario of someone hiding what he reads, ashamed, for being called for what he reads as not literature for its “un-literariness.” Here are some common definitions of literature: Meaning of Literature Literature cannot be conveniently caught in a pat definition. It is like asking the question of ‘What is the truth?”. Often when we come face to face with truth and beauty that we get to know them. So it is with literature: we understand the meaning of literature only by coming face to face with literature itself and taking its measure. Definitions of Literature 1. Literature can be defined as ‘pieces of writing that are valued as works of art, especially novels, plays and poems’. (Oxford Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary). 2. “…the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age, or the body of writings on a particular subject (scientific, art, etc.)”. (Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus). 3. Literature is the total of preserved writings belonging to a given language or people. 4. Literature is the class or the total of writings, of a given country or period, is which notable for literary form or expression, as distinguished, on the one hand, from works merely of technical or erudite and, on the other, from journalistic or other ephemeral writings. 5. Literature is Life. It is any form of writing which deals with the significant human experience -his society and his experiences -- which is artistically conceived for an effect. 6. Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means “acquaintance with letters”, and therefore the academic study of literature is known as letters. 7. Literature is “a performance in words.” –Robert Frost 8. Literature consists of those writings which interpret the meanings of nature and life, in words of charm and power, touched with the personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent interests. It is a product of life and about life. It uses language as medium. – Henry Van Dyke Laga (n,d) in his summary of Eagleton’s introduction to literary theory reiterated some points to consider in defining literature. Specifically, he noted that Literature is (1) imaginative writing, (2) extraordinary language, (3) pragmatic speech, and (4) good writing. LITERATURE IS IMAGINATIVE WRITING Some define literature as writing which is “imaginative” or fictive, as opposed to factual, true, or historical. This seems reasonable until we realize that … (1) what counts as “fact” varies with cultures and time periods. Is the book of Genesis (and the entire Bible for that matter) fact or fiction? Are the legends and myths of Greek, Scandinavia, and Native Americans fact or fiction? Is Darwin’s Origin of Species fact or fiction? Are news reports fact or fiction? (2) What is clearly imaginative writing is often not considered literature. For example, comic books, computer game stories, and Harlequin Romances are usually excluded from the category of “literature” even though they are certainly imaginative. (3) A lot of what we do consider literature is more like history (i.e. Boswell’s Biography of Samuel Johnson, Claredon’s History of the Rebe!ion) or philosophy (i.e. the works of Mill, Ruskin, Newman). In sum, fact vs. fiction is not a helpful way to distinguish between what is literary and what is not. There are also a lot of “facts” in novels, and many novels are based on real historical events (Laga, n.d.). It is therefore safe to consider that the question of whether literature is fact or fiction is not a point to consider, especially when the distinction between works written and/or as fact or fiction or imaginative is blurry depending on culture. So how do we look at literature to give it a definition? Eagleton (2008) suggests that perhaps literature is “definable not according to whether it is fictional or “imaginative’, but because it uses language in peculiar ways. LITERATURE IS EXTRAORDINARY LANGUAGE “Habitualization devours objects, clothes, furniture, one’s wife, and the fear of war. If all the complex lives of many people go on unconsciously, then such lives are as if they had never been. Art exists to help us recover the sensation of life; it exists to make us feel things, to make the stone stony. The end of art is to give a sensation of the object as seen, not as recognized. The technique of art is to make objects ‘unfamiliar,’ to make forms difficult, to increase the difficulty and length of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged. Art is a way of experiencing the artfulness of an object; the object is not important.” - Victor Shklovsky (early 20th century Russian formalist) Perhaps it is the way we use language. As some argue, literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language. If I say, “Thou still unravished bride of quietness,” then you know it’s literature or you know that I’m using “literary” language. The language is different from everyday speech in texture, rhythm and resonance. The sentence, “This is awfully squiggly handwriting!” doesn’t sound literary, does it? However, there are also some problems. (1) “Unordinary” speech depends upon a norm from which to deviate. But the specialized vocabulary used in sports, dance, music, small town diners, Glaswegian dockworkers, etc. or even everyday slang varies widely from the norm, but we don’t classify that language as “literary.” For example, most if not all of our swear words employ metaphorical/poetic language. Isn’t the sentence ‘You’re an asshole!” literary because of its use of metaphor? The language “defamiliarizes” or “estranges” the ordinary. (2) There isn’t a universal norm. One person’s norm may be another’s deviation. “Shitkicker” for “cowboy boot” may be poetic to someone from New York, but it’s everyday speech in Laramie. Many Americans think British words for everyday items seem poetic. For example, I smiled at a sign posted in a shopping mall in Salisbury: “Watch Out for Slow Moving Plants.” Apparently “plants” are forms of heavy equipment or machinery. For Brits, this sign is rather literal, but I enjoyed the figurative language. I won’t think of machinery or flowers in quite the same way. (3) Finally, the sentence above “This is awfully squiggly handwriting!” doesn’t sound literary, but it comes from Knut Hamsun’s novel Hunger. Therefore, what is literary depends upon the context. Anything read in an English class could count as literature simply because it is read for English (Laga, n.d.). LITERATURE IS PRAGMATIC SPEECH Perhaps literature is “non-useful” writing, writing that doesn’t help us do something pragmatic. There are still several problems. (1) One could read anything as “non-useful.” That is, I could easily read a shopping list and point out the interesting metaphors, beautiful sounds, imagery, etc. or … (2) I could read Moby Dick to find out how to kill whales. In fact, I have used a novel about sled dogs to train my own dogs. Is that book no longer “literature” once I turn it into a “how-to” book? (Laga, n.d.). LITERATURE IS “GOOD WRITING” Perhaps something is literary because the text is the kind of writing we like to read; it’s a highly valued kind of writing. In this case, anything can be literature, and anything can stop being literature. The important implication is that we don’t get to decide what is literature because our parents, teachers, exams, textbooks, etc. define that for us. We are trained to value the kind of writing that they value. This doesn’t mean that we are empty vessels with no ability to think for ourselves. However, our “personal” values and criteria are not personal, but social. These social institutions provide us with a range of possibilities, and social values are notoriously difficult to change (Laga, n.d.). CONCLUSIONS: “Literature” and the “literary” then are highly subjective categories. We can’t decide whether or not something is “literature” or “literary” simply by looking at its form or language. Shakespeare’s works have not always been valued as literature, and his works may not be valued in the future. I. Narrative poetry tells a story in richly imaginative and rhythmical language. A. Epic is a long, narrative poem divided into distinct parts and episodes bound together by a common relationship to some great hero, action, and time. Epics are essentially single poems of exceeding dignity and power. There are two kinds. Folk or popular epic (Beowulf and Nibelungenlaid) does not have a known author but evolved gradually from the people's ancient traditions. Literary epics have dis- tinct authorship (Paradise Lost by Milton). Classical epics have standard conventions such as an under- lying theme of human problem, the hero embodying national, cultural, or religious ideals, the style being lofty and earnest, and beginning in medias res, etc. B. Metrical romance is a long, rambling love story in verse. Ideals of chivalry, romantic love, and religious elements predominate in this type of literature most characteristic of the Middle Ages, "when knighthood was in flower." C. Ballad is a short narrative poem intended to be sung. Types can either be folk or literary as in the epic. D. Metrical tale is to poetry what the short story is to prose. It deals with any emotion or phase of life and its story is told in a simple, straightforward, and realistic manner. II. Lyric poetry expresses personal thoughts and feelings. A. The ode is a rather extended poem usually complicated in meter and stanza forms, and always deals with a serious theme such as immortality. Said to be most majestic of lyric types, the ode expresses enthusiasm, lofty praise of some person or thing. In it, the author is in an exalted mood and he feels deeply what he says; hence, the subject matter can never be trivial. The ode dates back to the ancient times, to Pindar of Greece, so called "the poet of the athlete." B. Elegy is generally a poem of a subjective and meditative nature. Strictly, it is a poem that can be distinguished by its subject-death. It contains the au- thor's personal grief for a loved one or a loss affecting the public as a whole or it may simply be a medita- tion on death such as Thomas Gray's "Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard." Although the elegy is a poem of lamentation, it embodies suggestions of hope and faith which tend to allay and soothe the sorrow of the poet. C. The song is a short lyric poem intended to be sung: It has that particularly melodious quality required by the singing voice. 1. Secular songs have nonreligious themes and examples are prothalamiums and epithalamiums (Marriage songs). 2. Sacred songs are songs in praise of God such as oratorios and cantatas. D. Simple lyric is any short poem where the verse is especially musical or where there is a marked subjective or emotional tone. E. Sonnet is a lyric poem distinguished by its exact form-fourteen iambic pentameter lines. It produces a single emotional effect. The lines are arranged in two waves of thought, the rising in the octave and the falling in the sestet. 1. Italian sonnet contains an octave where the theme, problem, hope, or desire is presented and a sestet where a resolution or conclusion is reached. Its rhymes are abba-abba-cdecde. 2. Shakespearian (English) sonnet, iambic pentameter-bab-cdcd-efef-gg. Its typical form, the sonnet, presents and develops its theme in the first three quatrains and states a conclusion in the couplet, or the last two lines. However, there are some variants of these. F. Vers de societe is light verse or occasional and complimentary verse which deals in a witty and polished fashion with subjects that, on the surface at least, are not very serious. Dramatic poetry portrays life and character through action in powerful, emotion-packed lines such as those in Shakespeare's plays. A. Poetic plays 1. Comedy - is a type of drama which aims primarily to amuse and which ends happily. The comedy presents incongruous aspects of human speech, character, and conduct as they are displayed in social life. 2. Tragedy - is a type of drama in which the chief character undergoes a morally significant strug- gle which ends disastrously. The tragedy assumes that humanity has a sense of its own dignity and free will, a sense of a moral law, and forces which lie outside of and are bigger than an individual. 3. Farce - is an exaggerated comedy based broadly on humorous situations. 4. Historical play - is a drama the materials of which are taken from the lives of outstanding figures in history. 5. Melodrama - is a play with sensational actions, sentimental love story, extravagant emotions, and, generally, a happy ending. B. Masque is a form of court pageantry that flourished in England in the 16th century but was not revived later. It had a prologue serving to introduce a group of actors who came in a sort of decorative float. Later, the literary element became more important. Settings, costumes, music, and scenery were lavish. C. Dramatic Monologue is a poem in which one char- acter speaks throughout, but the presence, actions, and even the words of other characters are implied. Caught at a dramatic moment or crisis in his life, the speaker unconsciously, even ironically, reveals his innermost character - his "soul in action" - and tells much of his story, social position, and relation- ships to the persons present.
