What is Literature
The definition of literature, in the broadest sense, is everything that has ever been written. Anything from the earliest poems of Homer, to today's web pages, can be considered literature. But for a specific sense, there are various kinds of literature. Literature can be written in a specific language, like English Literature or be written by a specific culture, such as African Literature. But literature really means more than printed words. It is considered a fine art. The word literature comes from the French phrase belles-lettres, which means "beautiful writing". When a piece of work is called literature, it is usually considered a great work of art. There are two main classes of literature: fiction and nonfiction. Fiction is writing that an author creates from the imagination. Authors may include personal experience, or facts about real people or events, but they combine these facts with imagined situations. Most fiction is narrative writing, such as novels and short stories. Fiction also includes drama and poetry. Nonfiction is factual writing about real-life situations. The principal forms of nonfiction include the essay, biography, autobiography, and diary. People read literature for a variety of reasons.
The plot is built around a series of events that take place within a definite period. It is what happens to the characters. No rules exist for the order in which the events are presented. A unified plot has a beginning, middle, and an end. In literary terms, a unified plot includes an exposition, a rising action, a climax, and a denouement, or outcome. The exposition gives the background and situation of the story. The rising action builds upon the exposition. It creates suspense, or a reader's desire to find out what happens next. The climax is the highest point of interest, also a turning point of a story. The denouement is the conclusion. Reading is an intently personal art. There are no final rules for judging a piece of writing. Often, people's judgment of a work can change as taste and fashion change. Yet the classics continue to challenge readers' imaginations and give ageless advice. Shakespeare will most likely be as popular a hundred years from now as he is today. That is power of literature. Literature is timeless. The most common reason for reading is pleasure. People read to pass the time, or for information and knowledge. Through literature, people meet characters they can identify with, and sometimes find
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Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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