The word ‘literature’ has been derived from the Latin term ‘littera’, which means a letter. Over time, critics and literary persons imparted various facets of sense and connotations to make the term more inclusive and ideal. It resulted in escalating the scope and meaning of the word ‘literature’, making it very wide and extensive. Of course, we cannot incorporate every written text under the umbrella of literature, nor can we restrict the scope of literature only to classical literature. Meaningful coexistence of words to make sense is what is expected of literature. In good literature, the oneness of words and sense is realized. That is why A. C. Bradley defines literature as where sound and meaning are one. When thoughts and emotions are perfectly expressed with words that are capable of expressing absolute sense, it becomes literature. Literature is a way of expressing our thoughts strikingly that it becomes a treasure of enlightenment and reading pleasure. In good literature, words compete with sense and outcome, making the expression enthralling.
The quest to discover a definition for literature is a road that is much traveled, though the point of arrival, whenever reached, is seldom satisfactory. Most attempted definitions are broad and vague, and they inevitably change over time. Largely, what people call literature is often a subjective appraisal, and subjective appraisal of a principle like literary taste, will always keep changing. So many writers have said so many things about literature. It is really interesting to know what causes literature to continue to attempt to make a difference with words. One can make life appealing and exciting by reading literature of any language and by involving himself or herself in creative writing or reading. Etymologically, literature has to do with letters, written as opposed to the spoken word. However, not everything that is written down qualifies to be called literature. As a classification, it does not really have any boundary lines. The great poet Shelly wanted to include some legislative statutes of parliament under poetry because they created order and harmony out of disorder. There is a recurring agreement among theorists that for a work to be called literature it must display excellence in form and style. There is also a general agreement that literature foregrounds language and uses it in artistic ways. Terry Eagleton goes some way forward towards a definition of literature and its relationship to language. He remarks that “literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday speech” (‘Literary Theory: An Introduction’, 2008).
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Just as architecture is an art form that arises out of the human ability to create buildings, literature is an art form that arises out of the human ability to create language. By the 1980s, there came a sense of inclusiveness in what is termed literary work as we live in a multicultural society. Attempts were made to dismantle distinguishing factors between high and low culture. Letters, diaries, petitions, reports, journals and objects, and essays, as well as traditional genres of novels, short stories, poems, and play, came to be included under the term ‘literature’. In the academic world, literature studies were included for their aesthetic quality, subject matter, and ideas that interpreted and analyzed issues of social interest. In that connotation, we can apply the term ‘literature’ to autobiography, philosophy, and letters too.
In exploring ideas about what literature is, it is useful to look at some of the things that literature does. John Steinbeck said, “I hold that a writer who does not passionately believe in the perfectibility of a man has no dedication or any membership in literature” (‘Nobel Writers on Writing’, 2000). These very words prove that the writings that are considered literature should be based on human values. Literature should guide humanity toward its perfection, and the writer who writes that message should be perfect in all aspects, at least he should be perfect in what he conveys to society. His perfection will give significance to his words, and his words will reform society. “It is in the literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression”, says Alfred North Whitehead (‘Science and the Modern World’, 1967).
Literature always anticipates life. It does not copy it but molds it to its purpose. Thus, literature is a mirror of life. Literature does not present reality, but it reflects it in a beautiful way. Therefore, literature is called a reflection of life. Human life and all subjects that are related to human life can be subject matter or elements of literature. Therefore, a person may get in touch with human life through literature. Literature is something that reflects society. It can be didactic and reflect on human stipulation, though it allows readers to enjoy language and its beauty. Literature can replicate ideas and modify the way of life. It absorbs generic approaches and restructures them as per the relevance of age. It has social and political effects. Literature is the creation of another world, a world that people can see only through reading or hearing. Hence, literature can create history and a new social order.
Literature is an expression of ideas of permanent and universal interest. Furthermore, a work, which is called literature, will not simply address a topic that people care about and are interested in, but it will especially address such topics. That form of expression somehow contributes to the uniqueness of the work. Since people create ideas and give them permanence and universal interest, critics can paraphrase them to mean that literature addresses topics that are of deep interest to many people. The topics are things that make human life both complicated and worth living - freedom, truth, beauty, love, loyalty, despair, hope, hopelessness, etc. Literature was a vehicle to manifest such meditative moods of contemplative personalities of different ages and countries. Literature has always been a medium to explore ideas. Literature shakes the very core of the reader and makes us feel that we are being enlightened by something new and appealing. It teaches us what it means to be human and makes us experience the world we live in in a new way. It makes us understand something new about what it means to be human. Nature writer Annie Dillard described it this way: “Why are we reading, if not in the hope of beauty, laid bare, life heightened and its deepest mystery probed? Why are we reading if not in the hope that the writer will magnify and dramatize our days, will illuminate and inspire us with wisdom, courage, and the possibility of meaningfulness, and will press upon our minds the deepest mysteries, so that we may feel again their majesty and power” (‘Interconnections: Writer, Culture, and Environment’, 1997).
Summarizing, we can say that the concept of literature is quite complex. It is very difficult to define what literature is because the scope and perception of the word ‘literature’ show a discrepancy according to one’s insight. Any written work that has the merit to remain fresh and new for several generations can be called literature. It implies that the work is elegantly composed, has amazing style, and is accepted to be sufficiently significant to peruse for a considerable length of time or hundreds of years to come. It is literature that makes human beings cultured and civilized. Literature is important for human life because, without it, life would have been a living hell. Literature in any language helps people to understand the cultural, social, and religious threads of the structure of society.
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