INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

Definitions

     It should be made clear from the onset that there is no real consensus or one all embracing definition of the term literature. You should also know that some of the definitions of literature given by scholars are largely according to their wealth of life experience within their locations. 

      

      Literature both on it’s broad and narrow planes (Gyasi, 1973)

It’s broad sense as “anything that is written”,

(While rees, 1973) sees it in narrow sense of “ writing which expresses and communicates thought, feelings and attitudes towards life”.

       Moddy (1987) wwrites the literature springs from our in born love of telling a story, ao arranging words in plesing patterns, of expressing in word some specil aspects of our human experience.

That is all the expert arguments about Introduction to literature, i get the conclusion about it. In this learning is to introduce us about how to start our interest in reading and studying the work of art. There is no better way word are used in a special and yet powerful manner than in literature. And kind of literature is writing which expresses and communicate thoughts, feelings and attitudes towards life.

        Among the various attempts to classify literature into genres, the triad epic, drama, and poetry has proved to be the most common in modern literary criticism. Because the epic was widely replaced by the new prose form of the novel in the eighteenth century, recent classifications prefer the terms fiction, drama, and poetry as designations of the three major literary genres.

Drama

      In this course you will be introduced to the world of literature. As a student of English, you must have studied literature, especially in English at a lower level than the present one. That means to some of you, what you are going to learn in the early part of this course may not be entirely new. There is therefore a need to bring your previous knowledge to bear on the new knowledge that you acquire in the course. In this unit, you will learn about the definitions of literature and different literary forms. Literature is a study that concerns a whole range of human life and activities. Thus, literature concerns you and me.

Poetry

 Poetry is one of the oldest genres in literary history. Its earliest examples go back to ancient Greek literature. Poetry Poetry is another genre or type of literature. It is written in verse, that is,  it is usually in lines known as verse. The use of verse is hence different from the biblical sense of chapter and verse. It simply refers to poems written in rhythmic patterns and lines

The illustrative poem above depicts versification. It was not written in prose or continuous form, but line by line. This is one of the reasons why it is a poem and not a play (drama) or prose (novel).

Conclusion : With a creative use of language, dramatic texts are produced for the audience to watch, and for the readers to enjoy. Poetic works stand unique amongst, all works of art. They represent a sophisticated and intricate use of language. The only way to enjoy literature is to read extensively.

Prose Works

The next genre or type of literature we shall consider is prose. This is a term you should be familiar with. What do you understand by it? Give your answer before reading this unit any further.

Prose refers to the literary or written form of the language of ordinary speech. We often talk about a book written in prose style or continuous form. The novel falls under prose. It is the latest arrival of the literary genres, in fact, novel means new.

How many novels have you read? Mention 10 of them and name their authors. The prose could be fiction or non-fiction. Fictions are imagined or invented stories. Thus, the events presented did not occur in real life, although they may be real to life, because, all literary work should depict life of various types. They include fables common in African literature and the modern George Orwell's Animal Farm, where the characters, mainly animals are made to talk, act and behave like human beings. Others are allegory which are similar to fables, but whose characters represent ideas, such as love, hope, meekness and the like, as is seen in John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress. Also included in the class of prose are parables, romance and short stories.

Non-fiction prose is more or less true-to-life stories. They include biography, autobiography, travels and adventures and the essay. All these types will be dealt with more fully in other modules.

The conclusion of prose This unit has been able to expose you to the three types of literature. You have also seen that literature is a work of art that is not restricted to only one form, but that there are different types depending on the writer's devices, theme and kinds of writing. Whether drama, prose or poetic literary work, creativity is a common trend.