What is literature? - Question

What is literature?

1) Meaning in broad sense: 

           In a broad sense it simply means 

“Anything that is written: timetable, catalogues, textbooks, travel brochures and so on.”

         

           In this sense the account of yesterday’s newspapers or advertisements are also the parts of literature. There is a literature for each electronic device like Mixture-juicer, refrigerator and washing machine, that literature will explain the details about that product. There are many literatures of Television, bank loans, Mall offers and by this, people will get information about things they want to know from that literature. Students from different fields learn literatures of commerce, science, computer and many more. People learn through literatures and apply those things in their real life. Rees gives an idea that whatever is written and printed is literature. Newspaper contains variety of articles and write-ups which can be called literature but on the other hand, we have great books like “Hamlet”, “Oliver Twist”, “Paradise Lost” and “Tess of De-Urbervilla”. We have poems of Sidney, Spenser, Donne, Wordsworth, Essays of Bacon, Steele Dramas of Shakespeare, Marlow Novels of Dickens, Graham Greene and many more. This is a bit confusing that,

 What can we consider as literature?

Should we consider every written material as literature?

         Literature contains variety in it and literature as an art is considered in more serious sense. There is a vast difference between dictionary and poems, novels and encyclopaedia. Literature contains emotions rather than information. It communicates feelings rather than facts. As the students of English literature we are more concerned with major works rather than news and magazine articles. We can also mention the difference between both the written contents. Thus, we can say that literature is something more for us rather than only printed or written materials. 

2) Communication of feelings:

                 Literature is anything that is written, but it is only information. In art it has considered as compliance of thoughts. There is a vast difference in description of the London, and in the poem “London” by Wordsworth. Literature contains emotions and not information. It communicates feelings not facts. Feelings are important for writers, because some writers give only information but some give emotions.  Literary figures are different than the person who gives information. The reader expects feelings from the poet or writer when he/she goes to the literary piece. Merely information would be dry. Objectively it does not create attraction. But when the poet has presented his/her experiences in the poems, the reader would also feel the same experiences through the reading of the poem and it could also differ from the experience of the poet but in one or the other way it is beautiful for individual.

              For example when we read the description of London city, and when we read the poem by Wordsworth, we like the description and the point of view of Wordsworth. Therefore we start feeling the same emotion of the poet towards the city and we begin to see the city by the eyes of poet. He personifies the city and creates images. There is rhyme and rhythm which creates music and it touches our heart. All these things are missing in encyclopaedia.

3) Permanence:

             Only communication through words is not important. Artists always try to make their works immortal in the hearts of readers. Literary works should reflect feelings in such a way that it remains forever. Newspapers are full of advertisements and it reflects various feelings. But it lacks one of the qualities which make that literature serious and heart touching. These qualities are connected with permanence. The journalists and advertisements writers only concerned with the people of that time. The novelists and poets hope that their works remain permanent. With the permanence of their work, the artists also survive. Many artists try to achieve that permanence but only few can achieve that. Time is a great critic. Shaw used to say in his time: ‘Remember Shaw and forget Shakespeare’.

             Advertisements express opinions. The opinions change. Advertisements and news items are connected with the present time. But the novelists or poets wish to make their works permanent. True work of art gives immortality to the writer and his subject.

            It is very difficult to achieve immortality. No one can say that which work would survive for a long period. Literary artist should always try his/her best. For journalists it is “here today and gone tomorrow”. Thus, we can understand that it is very difficult to define, ‘What is literature?’ ‘Hamlet’, ‘Paradise Lost’ and ‘War and Peace’ are literature, but yesterday’s ‘times’ cannot be. People use phrases like ‘creative literature’, ‘serious literature’ or ‘imaginative literature’ in broad sense. There can be objections as words sometime lose it’s meaning. There could be ‘good’ or ‘bad’ literature. Yet we find some good qualities in good literature.

4) Literature should enhance life:

     

           We consider that literature should “hold the mirror up to nature”. It should be ‘Life enhancing’. Mathew Arnold said about poetry which is true for literature, that ‘it is a criticism for life’. It simply means that if writer has an ability to communicate but if he/she rarely does so then it is useless. The experiences of poet and writer’s life will lose value if it is not properly converted in literature or expressed in literature. His experiences should be expressed in literature with his own remarks, suggestion, ideas, opinion, feelings, liking or disliking. This experience of a writer would be common to many or one, but the power of expressing the experience and his feelings is more important. It enhances the life of readers in some or the other way. It should be true to life. Readers should feel it ‘real’. It should be connected with reality and certain circumstances. Good writings can only come out of actual human experiences.

5) Quality:

            Literature also counts quality. One can have many experiences but all are not important. It can be important for the person but not for all. It depends that how the incident or experience has a connection with the readers. The duty of writers is to provide qualitative literature rather than bunch of experiences. Long epics or short lyrics could be written but if expression does not reveal deep feelings it won’t reach to the reader’s heart. Quantity of writer’s life experiences is not useful but his expressions are certainly useful. Quality is given priority. Great writers are capable to do it. If the experience is narrated with strength and vitality, good writings come out. Rees has given two examples. Drayton wrote sonnet while Holbrook wrote prosaic poem. Both the poets are similar in possessing a quality. Because of this quality their poems have retained a value of permanence.

6) Originality:

            The main question in literature is about originality. “How originality could be found?” If we generalize, nothing is original, and on the other side everything is original. Originality simply means everything is original in its own way and everything is quite unique and not similar to each other. There are many similarities in works of art but writers are different from each other. There are many old stories which are retold by new writers with new ideas. For example, Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” and Aime Cesaire “A Tempest”, Shakespeare’s most of characters are historical and they have taken from Italian sources but he made them new in his dramas. Most good literature is traditional and original at the same time. 

7) Craftsmanship:

             Originality is related with craftsmanship. Craftsmanship is a technical skill. Ideas and inspiration, experience and strong feelings all these will not be sufficient, all these need appropriate language to express them. A writer should know how to use language. Mostly it happens that required expression doesn’t come. Thinking and expression remain different. The knowledge of idioms, phrases, tones, various expressions, sentence patterns and grammar would be very useful. The writer should be familiar with past as well as present. When a writer writes anything, he/she should be aware with all these things and would try to make a different and unique piece of art. Literature can only be produced by the power of creative imagination. Without this all the technical skills in the words is useless. It is also truth that without technical skill and craftsmanship no good writing is possible. There must be “Right words in the right place”. Technical skills and imaginative powers are inter-depended. 

8) Consciousness of moral values:

            Most good literature carries ‘moral’ message. A writer is conscious about the message. He can give a sense of good and bad through his work. It is the feelings of the writer conveyed to the reader. It may be in our sense ‘good’ or ‘bad’. Each writer has his/her own definition of ‘good’ and ‘bad’. Shakespeare and Lawrence were different in their traditional belief. Hardly there would be any writer who wouldn’t convey any message to the reader. Serious literature wouldn’t exist at all without moral consciousness.

           Sometimes literature may be indifferent to morality. The writer may not be in any side. He must put a situation, a picture, an experience to make us think. In that case we have to analyse and come to conclusion.

Conclusion:

         Thus literature is not easy to define. There are many things which combine together will lead to understand literature.

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Some important questions:

 

1. Explain the concept of "Originality" in literature.

2. How "Craftsmanship"  is important for literary writers?

3. Can literature really communicate feelings? explain with illustration. 

4. Can literature enhance life? explain.

5.  Explain the concept of "Permanence" in literature.

6. "What is literature" provide your personal review in brief.