What is Literature ?

 According to Kenneth Rexroth

o Literature, a body of written works. The name has traditionally been applied to
those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of
their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution. Literature
may be classified according to a variety of systems, including language, national
origin, historical period, genre, and subject matter.
 Walter Pater also referred literature to “the matter of imaginative or artistic literature” as a
“transcript, not of mere fact, but of fact in its infinitely varied forms.”
 To the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary considers literature to be “writings
having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal
interest.”

Good standards of a good literature.

1. Artistry- a quality which appeals to our sense of beauty.
2. Intellectual Beauty - each literary pieces must stimulate thought. These should enrichour mental lif
e by making us realize about the fundamental truths towards life and human nature.
3. Suggestiveness - this is the quality relevant to the emotional power of literature to makeus feel de
eply and stir our imagination. It should trigger and evoke visions above and beyond the plane of
ordinary life experiences.
4. Spiritual Value - a literary work must elevate the spirit within us by bringing our moralvalues into t
he realm of the physical world. It should present moral values necessary forus to reflect and eve
ntually inspire us to become a better person.
5. Permanence- a great literary work endures and can be read again as each readings givesfresh deli
ghts and new insights. It should not be ephemeral or merely a passing hype tothe audience; it sh
ould be long-lasting.
6. Universality - a great literary work is timeless and timely. It is forever relevant, itappeals to one an
d all, anytime, and anywhere because it deals with an array ofindividual's perceptions as well as
orientations toward fundamental truths and universal conditions.
7. Style - it is peculiar way in which a writer sees life, form his or her ideas expresses them.Great wo
rks are marked as much by their memorable substances as by their distinctive style.
Difference of Prose to Poetry

Prose
 Most everyday writing is in prose
form.
 The language of prose is typically
straightforward without much
decoration.
 Ideas are contained in sentences that
are arranged into paragraphs.
 There are no line breaks. Sentences
run to the right margin.
 The first word of each sentence is
capitalized.
 Prose looks like large blocks of
words.
Poetry
 Expressing something special in an
artistic way.
 Language of poetry tends to be
more expressive or decorated, with
comparisons, rhyme, and rhythm
contributing to a different sound and
feel.
 Ideas are contained are
arranged in stanzas.
 Poetry uses line breaks .
 Lines can run extremely long or be as
short as one word or letter.
 Traditionally, the first letter of every
line is capitalized.

1 depending on line length and the

What is poetry?
 Poetry is a type of literature based on the interplay of words and rhythm. It often
employs rhyme and meter (a set of rules governing the number and arrangement of syllables in
each line). In poetry, words are strung together to form sounds, images, and ideas that might be
too complex or abstract to describe directly.
 Poetry was once written according to fairly strict rules of meter and rhyme, and each culture had
its own rules.

Characteristic of a good Poetry

1. Connotation: In poetry, the ideas, feelings, thoughts of the speaker are not
directly conveyed through the use of images, symbols, and figure of speech.
2. Meditation: Reading and understanding poetry makes everyone think seriously.
3. Metrics: Not modern poetry, but old poetry may use metrical composition, such as
meter, rhythm, and foot.
4. Music: Poetry has the musical quality.
5. Aesthetic and dyadic: Poetry provides an entertainment and gives an instruction
to the readers.
6. Imagination and Feelings: It is said that poetry is the expression of imagination.
Hence, imagination and feelings are profoundly predominant in poetry.
7. Visible shape: Poetry has its own physical structure.
8. Stanza form: Poetry is written in stanzas such as couplets, triplets, and quotation.
9. Playfully pleasant: Poetry can please the heart of the reader.

Types and Division of Poetry

 Lyric poetry-are poems focused on thought and emotion. The poems may be songs--and
songs may be any other genre. The main sub-divisions include elegy, ode, and sonnet.
Lyric poetry does not tell a story. Major lyric poems include "Go, Lovely Rose" by
Sappho and Shakespeare's Sonnets.

 Narrative poetry-is a poem which tells a story. Most commonly, the stories involve heroic
events or are of cultural or national (or some degrees even local) importance.
Subdivisions of narrative poetry include ballads and epics. "The Divine Comedy" by
Dante, "Raven" by Edgar Allan Poe, and "Odyssey" by Homer are just a few of the major
narrative pieces.

 Dramatic poetry-is written in verse that is meant to be spoken. It generally tells a story,
but can also simply portray a situation. The majority of dramatic poetry is written in blank
verse. The authors Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare have
all written important dramatic works.