What is literature?

Understanding what literature is, has always been a challenge and pinning down a definition has
proven to be quite difficult task. Here is one definition of what literature is.
Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, literature is
used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the
term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of
poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.
Although the above definition is framed lexically with a criteria approach, I feel that literature is
beyond that definition, it is more than what we see and perceive. Its boundaries cross our lives,
our traditions, culture, social relations, national unity and a lot more. In this article I would like
to throw light on why literature is important in our lives and emphasize on its undiscovered
effects on the moral behavior of human beings. One definition of literature which I like is as
below.
Literature is a canon which consists of those works in language by which a community defines
itself through the course of its history. It includes works primarily artistic and also those whose
aesthetic qualities are only secondary. The self-defining activity of the community is conducted
in the light of the works as its members have come to read them or concretize them.
What sense does literature makes in the contemporary world?
In this rapidly globalizing world, the community of readers and writers has discovered a whole
new concept of World Literature, which although originated in 1820s, has gained pretty good
significance only in the contemporary times. This idea of world literature unfolds and redefines
every classic text in a fashion that touches human feelings and emotions which are common
everywhere surpassing the barriers of race, religion, region or ethnicity etc. It dissolves the
regional or the religious framework of the text and escalates what emotions and dilemmas, a
character has subject to. In other words, what Goethe has written in German in late 18th century
may have its reflections in 21st century in India. Or what Rabindranath Tagore has written in the
early 20th century in India might have its reflections in 21st century in Iran.
As far as the present argument is concerned, I would like to confine the domain of Indian context
and argue upon what sense does world literature makes in our lives.
In the past 10 years, Indian economy has undergone drastic reforms and has set a stupendous
pace of 8% GDP to itself, which gave a surge to the demand of skilled human resources in the
area of science & technology. This is a very positive growth which has lessened the
unemployment and is expected to wipe away poverty in the coming decades. This is also a
growth of demand for scientific knowledge in the student community who seek to pursue their
career in the fast growing industrial sectors like IT, software, engineering and management. As a
result of which todays life has become an unending pursuit of technical knowledge and applied
skill. Students are asked to take extra hours in reading Physics and Mathematics. Its a very well
known fact that this passion to enter the field of science and technology has percolated down to

the high school level, and of course there are institutions in our country which provide
engineering or medicine oriented academic programs at the school level itself.
At this juncture an important question of what sense does English or regional language novel
makes for a student has risen not only in the minds of teaching community but also among the
parents and students. The question of why one has to read an English story when he/she is in
12th standard preparing for an entrance examination, or why an engineering or science student
has to read English literature even after learning a lot of English grammar at high school level is
the crux of our argument. What sense does classic novel makes in our lives? If we can learn
Grammar through some relevant books there is practically no need of reading a story, then why
do we need to have stories as a part of our curriculum when we dont have any use of it? Why do
I need to read of Kafka or Leo Tolstoy when I am a Project Manager in a software company;
how does that be useful to me or my profession?
Or even if we are jobless, some of us find it a difficult task to take out a book and read through it,
we would rather prefer to watch a movie or leisurely pass away time. Some of us really might
have read through some books, but I assure, both of them have still enough reason to read
through the rest of the article and digest this very little piece of text. I do not ask anyone to forgo
movies or your favourite pastime and make book reading a daily ritual. But I would like to
convey how important it is for us, and what kind of book makes difference.
Imagination
Bill Clinton always uses a line that says: Children cant be expected to live a life they cant
imagine.
Tim Gillespie in one of his essays to The English Journal says, We rightly worry that many
youngsters lives are circumscribed by poverty, discrimination, low expectations, cultural
insularity, and other conditions that may render them unable to see beyond the limits of their
immediate horizons. Literature does offer-inexpensively-a vision of other lives and other vistas.
One of its potential benefits is to enlarge a readers sense about the many possible ways to live.
This enlarged sense seems to me an important part of our traditional national ethos. Hope for a
better world and belief in the possibility of re-making oneself or improving ones situation breed
optimism and elbow grease. We have rich testimony of this imaginative function of literature.
The ability of literature to provoke its reader to imagine is generalized in the above sentences.
What I mean to say is that literature of any kind has a generalized power to make the reader
imagine things. Of course, Tim throws more light on living life in various ways and imagining
situations that one cannot experience but literature of any kind, whether a science textbook or a
novel makes the reader to imagine. This power of imagination deepens the intellectual quotient
of a person.
Empathy or the Emotional Quotient
Empathy, which literally translates as in feeling, is the capability to share another
beings emotions and feelings.
Emotional quotient is the ability, capacity, skill, to identify, assess, and manage the emotions of

ones self, of others, and of groups.

Daniel Goleman identified the five domains of EQ as:
1.Knowing your emotions.
2.Managing your own emotions.
3.Motivating yourself.
4.Recognising and understanding other peoples emotions.
5.Managing relationships, ie., managing the emotions of others.
Apart from emotional quotient man is also equipped with Intelligence quotient and spiritual
quotient. As per the present discussion, it is important for us to improve both our emotional and
spiritual quotients on par with the intelligence quotients. One has to understand that all the above
three, put together, can only make an excellent human being. And to emphasize more on
emotional quotient is that it makes one understand how the others might get affected by his/her
acts directly or indirectly, which is the most important quality that will spring the sense of social
responsibility in everyone.
To explain with a better example, let us understand why should one read about Anne Frank or
Lakshmi Kaur? How a book works on the mind of a reader is, that it virtually reconstructs every
scene of the story or autobiography around him; and this depends on the level of imagination of
the reader. After which, the characters and dilemmas of the story or novel, impinges on the
reader more powerful than imagination. When one is reading about Anne Frank, one should be
able to get under the skin of her and look at the world through her eyes, and experience the
discrimination she was subject to, the agony and pain which she felt, and the reason why she had
to, and the justification, that just because she was a Jew, should she die? One should be able to
feel the suffering of the soul of Anne Frank reflecting in her words. One should be able to judge,
and assimilate the conception of Nazis or someone else responsible for the event being unfolded
by the book. That widens ones moral horizons, not only to the extent of Anne Frank but in our
everyday life. It is when we start thinking about the other person our emotional quotient comes
into play. One should develop empathy to be a rational and more humanistic in nature. And as
you keep reading more and more books each book has a plenty of characters of and plenty of
dilemmas and each book exposes you to them in its own fashion. Thereby, one can get
experiences of different complex situations, one might face in his/her life without actually
experiencing them, and when such a situation actually comes, the experience nurtured by the
book in your mind enhances your ability to handle the situation in matured way.
I would like to end this article with a word of caution, that every book necessarily does not make
such an impression. Just like movies, even some books are also commercial in nature, solely
made to entertain the reader make the book a bestseller. One simple way to make a judgment
about the healthiness of a book is, if you find at least one leaf of the book reflecting your life or
your relations, or at least if it makes you think that why such a scene has happened, leaving a
lasting impression on the consequences of the scene, then that book had something in store for
you!

So, why is Literature important? How does it show itself as indispensable to a culture? Here's
what William Long has to say...
Importance of Literature
It is a curious and prevalent opinion that literature, like all art, is a mere play of imagination,
pleasing enough, like a new novel, but without any serious or practical importance. Nothing
could be farther from the truth. Literature preserves the ideals of a people; and ideals--love, faith,
duty, friendship, freedom, reverence--are the part of human life most worthy of preservation. The
Greeks were a marvelous people; yet of all their mighty works we cherish only a few ideals,-ideals of beauty in perishable stone, and ideals of truth in imperishable prose and poetry. It was
simply the ideals of the Greeks and Hebrews and Romans, preserved in their literature, which
made them what they were, and which determined their value to future generations. Our
democracy, the boast of all English-speaking nations, is a dream; not the doubtful and sometimes
disheartening spectacle presented in our legislative halls, but the lovely and immortal ideal of a
free and equal manhood, preserved as a most precious heritage in every great literature from the
Greeks to the Anglo-Saxons. All our arts, our sciences, even our inventions are founded squarely
upon ideals; for under every invention is still the dream of Beowulf, that man may overcome the
forces of nature; and the foundation of all our sciences and discoveries is the immortal dream
that men "shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."
In a word, our whole civilization, our freedom, our progress, our homes, our religion, rest solidly
upon ideals for their foundation. Nothing but an ideal ever endures upon earth. It is therefore
impossible to overestimate the practical importance of literature, which preserves these ideals
from fathers to sons, while men, cities, governments, civilizations, vanish from the face of the
earth. It is only when we remember this that we appreciate the action of the devout Mussulman,
who picks up and carefully preserves every scrap of paper on which words are written, because
the scrap may perchance contain the name of Allah, and the ideal is too enormously important to
be neglected or lost.

Literature, in whatever language it may be, is considered by all as a piece of art. However,
people who really admire the beauty of a piece of literature, are people who enjoy reading and
writing or, in some cases, acting.
With a lot of personal experience and a college degree in literature, I find it the most interesting
thing there is. Literature, to me, is giving life to ideas. The mind is a complex collection of ideas.
The beauty of literature is that you have to extract the right ideas from that wide assortment and
give words to it. All those who hold experience in writing would agree with me.
Literature, in essence, refers to a piece of writing; be it in any form. People usually have the
misconception that literature only refers to Shakespearean plays. Well, it does but it is not
limited to that. In fact, plays form only a small portion of this gallery of art that we called
literature. Poems, essays, prose all fall under the definition of literature.

As a physicist might enjoy physics, people involved in literature enjoy both reading and writing
of literary works. We find it both enjoyable and interesting. It is an extremely vast field and one
can go on writing for ages and not stop.
A lot of us, I am sure, have imagined playing a movie of their entire life. If you are a literary
writer this might be possible. A lot of the literary works that exist today are based on their
authors own life. Charles Dickens is a famous example. Mr. Dickens wrote a lot of novels on
the upbringing of a child in rags one that he was himself.
Like songs, people find meaning in books and literary works they can relate to. This is what
makes it enjoyable. Literature takes you to a different zone itself. It is almost magical sometimes.
You get an opportunity to live in a different time, a different place, a different scenario and
among different people.
This can also be experienced in both theaters and movies. A lot of the famous literary works are
still acted out and are the source to several successful movies and television shows. However,
this is not what literature is limited to. Poetry and prose writing, with the proper use of profane
words which give the right texture to it, are a long known of source of romancing. Poets and
prose writers gave words to their feelings to both seduce and explain what their love means to
them.
Therefore, it can be concluded that reading and writing of quality literary works helps in the
development of a persons emotions and also in the development of the communication skills
that are required to be successful in the modern age.
With experience as the sub-editor of a local magazine, Lizzie Blake, a graduate from UIC with
majors in Literature, holds a lot of experience in custom theses writing help.

The study of literature allows people to develop new ideas and ethical standpoints, and can help
individuals to present themselves as educated members of society. Studying literature can be an
enriching, eye-opening experience.
English literature allows us to understand the philosophical movements and ideas that permeated
a particular culture at a particular time.
Literature is a form of art; it is capable of bringing about differing emotions and a general sense
of "spiritual" well-being.
By following the histories presented throughout English literature, it is possible to understand
how contemporary Western culture has developed into what it is today.It helps us to understand
the past better and learn important lessons of life from it .

Some people read English Literature for their own pleasure also. It also allows us to know and
learn rituals , beliefs ,superstitions and culture of other religions and develop a secular approach
towards it .Developing intolerant approaches to other religions , castes , community, groups
,countries etc. is the need of the hour in today's world and knowing their literature helps us in
doing it in a better way.

filips | Elementary School Teacher | eNoter

Posted September 13, 2012 at 7:48 PM (Answer #2)
dislike 1 like
English literature is a path to knowledge. As with all World literature, the English literature has
been a key for understanding the world and a means of inspiring and supporting cultural and
social movements.
Inspired by folklore, this literature continue to transmit from one generation to the others
messages of cultural awareness, of beliefs, spiritual growth, ideals ans many manifestations of
the human spirit.All over the world myths and legends similarly explained life and universe.
The English literature served as a model for European and American literature but has also taken
its part of insipiration from these. The novels of Modernism and Postmodernism sought to find a
way to explain the trauma of the modern individual , given the reality of the dramatic World
Wars, to understand the alienation of the individual.
Reading is a way to live inspired...one can evade or better come to terms with his/her own reality
if the literary work conveys a clear message. The spectators of the Greek Theatre purified
themselves of evil manifestations when seeing the wrong-doers being punished for their deeds,
therefore Old or Modern/Postmodern English literature in its extraordinary variety of forms and
genre has this purifying, educating effect.

zahoa001 | Student, Undergraduate | eNoter

Posted October 2, 2012 at 9:49 AM (Answer #3)
dislike 1 like
I think that English Literature offers an author or poet the chance to convey a palpable message
through an intangible scenario. The literature itself has a microcosm of plots and characters but

the overall meaning is contained when looking at the text as a whole. I think it is a lot easier to
debate or discuss questions of morality and ethics when they are relevant to a piece of literature
because, since the events may never have occurred in the real world and therefore there is
nothing tangible to relate the ideas to, it provides a premise in which to explore the author's
thoughts.

readerofbooks | College Teacher | (Level 2) Educator Emeritus

Posted September 13, 2012 at 1:49 PM (Answer #4)
dislike 0 like
This is a good and important question. English literature is important in many different ways. Let
me list a few of them.
First, English literature tells us about the history of the English speaking world. In other words,
through this literature, you are able to learn about ourselves and our history.
Second, English literature also teaches us many lessons that have universal themes, such as love,
war, desire, justice and many more. When we read these topics, we become much more
sophisticated in our thinking and our view of the world expands. This makes us better citizens.
Third, English literature also makes us think, as we might not necessarily agree. We will have to
form opinions and convictions of our own and the reading of English literature can aid us in the
process.
"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies
that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have
already become." - C.S. Lewis, a British scholar and novelist.
This adage is perhaps the most appropriate description of the importance of literature in our
lives. Literature reminds us of stories, epics, sacred scriptures and classical works of the ancient
and modern times. Literature is defined as the body of written works of a language, period or
culture, produced by scholars and researchers, specialized in a given field. Why is literature
important? Let us see.
As stated in the quotation by C.S. Lewis, literature not only describes reality but also adds to it.
Yes, literature is not merely a depiction of reality; it is rather a value-addition. Literary works are
portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are a depiction of
the different facets of common man's life. Classical literary works serve as a food for thought
and a tonic for imagination and creativity. Exposing an individual to good literary works, is
equivalent to providing him/her with the finest of educational opportunities. On the other hand,

the lack of exposure to classic literary works is equal to depriving an individual from an
opportunity to grow as an individual.
Prose, poetry, drama, essays, fiction, literary works based on philosophy, art, history, religion,
and culture and also scientific and legal writings are grouped under the category of literature.
Creative nonfiction of the ancient times and literary journalism also fall under literature. Certain
extremely technical writings such as those on logistics and mathematics are also believed to be a
part of literature.
Some of the great literary works like the Bible and Indian epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata,
among others, provide society with the guiding principles of life. Ancient poetic works by poets
like Homer, Plato, Sappho, Horace and Virgil, Shakespeare's sonnets and notable poetry by W.B.
Yeats, John Keats, Wordsworth, Tennyson and William Blake are timeless. The Lord of the
Rings, The Godfather, A Tale of Two Cities, James Bond series are some of the best-selling
books of all time. The Adventures of Pinocchio, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Winnie-thePooh were some of the greatest works in children's literature. The relatively recent Harry Potter
series made record sales across the globe and carved a niche for J.K. Rowling. However, a
discussion about children's authors would be incomplete without the mention of all-time popular
authors like Aesop, Enid Blyton, Roald Dahl and Mark Twain.
It is through reading such great literary and poetic works, that one understands life. They help a
person take a closer look at the different facets of life. In many ways, it can change one's
perspective towards life. Lives of brilliant achievers and individuals who have made a valuable
contribution to society, are sketched in their biographies. These works give the readers an insight
into the lives of these eminent people, while also serving as a bible of ideals.
Literature serves as an enormous information base. Research works by famous inventors and
literary works by notable scientists often narrate stories of their groundbreaking discoveries and
inferences. Ongoing developments in the fields of science and technology are documented so
that the world can know about them. Several ancient scriptures relating stories of human
evolution and narratives of human life in those times, have been of tremendous help to mankind.
Thus, literature has always served as an authentic source of information from all around the
world.
True, languages are the building blocks of literature. But the study of literature cannot be
restricted to only studying languages. In fact, literature cannot be confined to an educational
curriculum. A degree in language and literature is perhaps unable to provide one, with everything
that literature can offer.
Literature, is definitely, much more than its literary meaning, which defines it as 'an
acquaintance to letters'. It, in fact, lays the foundation of an enriched life; it adds 'life' to 'living'.
Read more at Buzzle: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/importance-of-literature.html

What is Literature?
The quest to discover a definition for literature is a road that is much travelled, though the
point of arrival, if ever reached, is seldom satisfactory. Most attempted definitions are broad and
vague, and they inevitably change over time. In fact, the only thing that is certain about defining
literature is that the definition will change. Concepts of what is literature change over time as
well. What may be considered ordinary and not worthy of comment in one time period may be
considered literary genius in another. Initial reviews of Emily Bront's Wuthering Heights in
1847 were less than spectacular, however, Wuthering Heights is now considered one of the
greatest literary achievements of all time. The same can be said for Herman Melville's MobyDick (1851).
Generally, most people have their own ideas of what literature is. When enrolling in a literary
course at university, you expect that everything on the reading list will be literature. Similarly,
you might expect everything by a known author to be literature, even though the quality of that
author's work may vary from publication to publication. Perhaps you get an idea just from
looking at the cover design on a book whether it is literary or pulp. Literature then, is a form
of demarcation, however fuzzy, based on the premise that all texts are not created equal. Some
have or are given more value than others.
Most forays into the question of what is literature go into how literature works with the reader,
rather than how the author set about writing it. It is the reception, rather than the writing, which
is the object of enquiry. Largely, what we call literature is often a subjective value judgment,
and naturally, value judgments, like literary tastes, will change.
Etymologically, literature has to do with letters, the written as opposed to the spoken word,
though not everything that is written down is literature. As a classification, it doesn't really have
any firm boundary lines. The poet Shelley wanted to include some legislative statutes of
parliaments under poetry because they created order and harmony out of disorder. There is
recurring agreement amongst theorists though that for a work to be called literature must display
excellence in form and style. Something may also be literary by association that is, because
V.S. Naipaul is a literary figure through his novels, his private letters are passed as literature as
well.
There is also general agreement that literature foregrounds language, and uses it in artistic ways.
Terry Eagleton goes some way towards a definition of literature and its relationship to language:
Literature transforms and intensifies ordinary language, deviates systematically from everyday
speech. Just as architecture is the art form that arises out of the human ability to create
buildings, literature is the art form that arises out of the human ability to create language.
The common definition of literature, particularly for university courses, is that it covers the
major genres of poetry, drama, and novel/fiction. The term also implies literary quality and
distinction. This is a fairly basic view of literature because, as mentioned in the introduction, the
meaning of the term has undergone changes, and will no doubt continue to do so. Most
contemporary literary histories show a shift from the belles-lettres tradition, which was

concerned with finding beauty, an elevated use of language, emotional effects and moral
sentiments before something could be called literature.
The three main ways of approaching a definition of literature are relativism, subjectivism and
agnosticism. With relativism, there are no value distinctions in literature; anything may be called
good literature. Subjectivism, as the term implies, means that all theories of literary value are
subjective, and that literary evaluation is a purely personal matter. Agnosticism follows from
subjectivism, though it argues that though there may be real distinctions in literary value, our
subjective value systems prevent us from knowing
anything about the real values.
By the 1980s, there was a sense of inclusiveness (and
relativism) in what was termed literary that ran alongside
the inclusiveness of multiculturalism - anything could be
literature, and attempts were made to dismantle
distinctions between high and low culture. Letters,
diaries, reports, petitions, journals and essays as well as
the traditional genres of novel, short story, poem and
play can be included as literature. In universities,
literature began to be studied for issues and themes, and
works were valued for their ideas and engagement with
the world as much as for their aesthetic qualities. These
standards are also applied to non-fiction, such as
auto/biography and philosophy. The most recent
amendment to what constitutes literature is the inclusion
of oral narratives. This inclusion hasn't been without
debate. There is some argument that the written word
lends itself more easily to analysis, while the flip side is
that oral narratives are a legitimate part of a culture's
literary capital.
Definitions of literature change because they describe
and clarify a reality, they do not create the reality they
describe. Or it may be that definitions tell us what we
ought to think literature should be. At a dinner party you
would be swiftly corrected if you referred to Mills &
Boon as literature. This might occur for two reasons:
the common perception of literature as described by current definitions doesn't include massmarket romance novels; or Mills & Boon might well be literature, but contemporary definitions
tell us it shouldn't be.
Does it really matter what literature is? Does everyone have to agree? Because there is no
hard and fast definition of literature, perhaps it is more beneficial to seek an analysis instead.
What purposes does literature serve? What distinguishes literature from non-literary works?
What makes us treat something as literature? How do we know when something is literature?
Would it be easier to ask what isn't literature?

Literature is as literature does. In exploring ideas about what literature is, it is useful to look at
some of the things that literature does. Literature is something that reflects society, makes us
think about ourselves and our society, allows us to enjoy language and beauty, it can be didactic,
and it reflects on the human condition. It both reflects ideology and changes ideology, just like
it follows generic conventions as well as changing them. It has social and political effects: just
ask Salman Rushdie or Vladamir Nabakov. Literature is the creation of another world, a world
that we can only see through reading literature.

Literature helps us understand and make sense of the world around us. Through literature, we explore
the human condition and analyze how and why people think the way they think and feel the way they
feel. Literature enables us to develop our minds analytically and promotes open minds. We see the
world through the eyes of different writers from different cultures and in turn learn the ways to deal
with things happening around us. Without literature, we lack insight and understanding of human
nature. Everyone should, therefore, study literature.

Just the word "literature" says it all. It means to be literate, meaning. The understanding of reading. The
more you understand, the more you learn so that if at anytime you need to sign some important
document, you will know what you are signing for. And not be ignorant the reverse of literate.
It will affect your future if you lack understanding and can be cheated of many things due t0 lack of
understanding in even a very simple word.
And I'm sure you know this. You wouldn't ask this if you couldn't even spell. And from what I see you
can.

The importance and meaning of Literature

When we begin the study of literature, we find it has always two aspects, one of the simple enjoyment
and appreciation and the other of analysis and exact description. Usually it happens when we go

through literature in our classroom either by ourselves or by our teachers one thing matters very much
and that is the importance of literature for students? Until our concept is not clear we can never
understand what literature is? We need time and understanding to nurture our spirits.
I read somewhere in a short story of "The shell and the Book". A child and a man were one day walking
on the seashore when the child found a little shell and held it to his ear. Suddenly he heard sounds,
strange, low, melodious sounds, as if the shell were remembering and repeating to itself the murmurs of
its ocean home. The child's face filled with wonder as he listened.
Here in the little shell, apparently, was a voice from another world, and he listened with delight to its
mystery and music. Then came the man, explaining that the child heard nothing strange; that the pearly
curves of the shell simply caught a multitude of sounds too faint for human ears and filled the
glimmering hollows with the murmur of innumerable echoes. It was not a new world, but only the
unnoticed harmony of the old that had aroused the child's wonder.
So some such experience as this awaits us when we begin the study of literature with its two aspects of
simple enjoyment and appreciation and the other if analysis and exact description. Like when a song
appeals to the ear or a noble book to the heart we discover a new world for the moment, at least, a
completely new world which is very different from our own world and it sees that we are in a place of
dreams and magic.
"Behind every book is a man; behind the man is a race; and behind the race are the natural and social
environments whose influence is unconsciously reflected, this we must know, if the book is to speak its
whole message. In simple word, we have now reached at the point where we wish to understand and
enjoy literature, and the first step toward it is to know its essential qualities as exact definition is
impossible.
In broader sense, perhaps literature means simply written records of the race, including all its history
and sciences, as well as its poems and novels, and in narrower sense literature is the artistic record of
life and most of our writing excluded from it. A history or a science may be a literature sometimes but
only when we forget the subject matter and the presentation of facts in the simple beauty of its
expression.
Qualities of Literature
The first significant thing is the artistic quality of all literature. All art is the expression of life in forms of
truth and beauty or in another word which exist in this world and which remain unnoticed until bought
to our attention by some sensitive human soul same like the delicate curves of the shell reflects sounds
and harmonies too faint to be otherwise noticed. In the same pleasing, surprising way, all artistic work
must be a kind of revelations architecture is probably the oldest creative work of arts and yet we still
have many builders but few architects, that is, men whose work in wood or stone suggests some hidden
truth and beauty to the human senses.

Suggestiveness
The second significant quality of literature is its suggestiveness, its appeal to our emotions and
imagination rather to our intellect.
Permanence
The third characteristic of literature is arising itself directly from the other two and that is permanence.
The importance of Literature
It is a prevalent opinion that literature is like all arts is mere play of imagination, pleasing enough like a
new novel without any serious or practical importance. Nothing could be farther from the truth,
Literature preserves the ideals of a people and these ideal are love, faith, duty, friendship, freedom and
reverence which are the part of human life most worthy of preservation.
Lastly in summary we can say Literature is the expression of life in words of truth and beauty, it is the
written record of man's spirit of his thoughts, emotions, aspirations, and it is the history and only the
history of the human soul having characteristics of its artistic quality, its suggestiveness and its
permanent qualities which will never fade.
Source:
By Pearl A