Literature is literally "acquaintance with letters" as in the first sense given in the Oxford English Dictionary (from the Latin littera meaning "an individual written character (letter)"). The term has generally come to identify a collection of texts. The word "literature" as a common noun can refer to any form of writing, such as essays; "Literature" as a proper noun refers to a whole body of literary work, often relating to a specific culture. Literature - Introduction. Nations can have literature ...

Including:

• Literature - Introduction
• Literature - Terminology
• Literature - Forms of literature
• Literature - Poetry
• Literature - Drama
• Literature - Essays
• Literature - Prose fiction
• Literature - Other prose literature
• Literature - Somewhat related narrative forms
• Literature - Genres of literature
• Literature - Literary techniques
• Literature - Literary figures
• Literature - Literature by country language or cultural group
• Literature - Literary criticism
• Literature - Story elements
• Literature - Themes in literature
• Literature - Other

Read more here: » Literature: Encyclopedia - Literature

Nations can have literatures, as can corporations, philosophical schools or historical periods. Popular belief commonly holds that the literature of a nation, for example, comprises the collection of texts which make it a whole nation. The Hebrew Bible, Persian Shahnama, Thirukural, Beowulf, the Iliad and the Odyssey and the Constitution of the United States, all fall with ...

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Literature, Literature - Introduction, Literature - Terminology, Literature - Forms of literature, Literature - Poetry, Literature - Drama, Literature - Essays, Literature - Prose fiction, Literature - Other prose literature, Literature - Somewhat related narrative forms, Literature - Genres of literature, Literature - Literary techniques, Literature - Literary figures, Literature - Literature by country language or cultural group, Literature - Literary criticism, Literature - Story elements, Literature - Themes in literature, Literature - Other

Read more here: » Literature: Encyclopedia II - Literature - Introduction

Literature - Poetry. A poem is a composition usually written in verse. Poems rely heavily on imagery, precise words choice, and metaphor; they may take the form of measures consisting of patterns of stresses (metric feet) or of patterns of different-length syllables (as in classical prosody); and they may or may not utilise rhyme. One cannot readily characterise poetry precisely. Typically though, poetry as a form of literature makes some significant use of the formal properties of the words it uses — th ...

See also:

Literature, Literature - Introduction, Literature - Terminology, Literature - Forms of literature, Literature - Poetry, Literature - Drama, Literature - Essays, Literature - Prose fiction, Literature - Other prose literature, Literature - Somewhat related narrative forms, Literature - Genres of literature, Literature - Literary techniques, Literature - Literary figures, Literature - Literature by country language or cultural group, Literature - Literary criticism, Literature - Story elements, Literature - Themes in literature, Literature - Other

Read more here: » Literature: Encyclopedia II - Literature - Forms of literature

"Literature", with emphasis on the uppercase L, is a subset of the more general "literature". "Literature" refers to written work of exceptional intellectual calibre, whereas "literature" can be anything written. Accordingly, War and Peace by Tolstoy is "Literature" (singular) (as well as "literature"). Consequently, a novel by Danielle Steele will be included in "literature" but not in "Literature", since most people would not deem the books to b ...

See also:

Literature, Literature - Introduction, Literature - Terminology, Literature - Forms of literature, Literature - Poetry, Literature - Drama, Literature - Essays, Literature - Prose fiction, Literature - Other prose literature, Literature - Somewhat related narrative forms, Literature - Genres of literature, Literature - Literary techniques, Literature - Literary figures, Literature - Literature by country language or cultural group, Literature - Literary criticism, Literature - Story elements, Literature - Themes in literature, Literature - Other

Read more here: » Literature: Encyclopedia II - Literature - Terminology