Notes

W H AT I S L I T E R AT U R E ?
 The word literature is derived from the latin word “litera” which means letter or words.
 Literature is the total of preserved writings/spoken words belonging to a given language or people.
 Literature interprets the meanings of nature and life
 (thoughts, emotions/feelings) in words of charm and power, touched with the personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent interests.
 Literature expresses significant human experiences.
LITERARY TYPES
• Literature can generally be divided into two types: (based on structure and based on content)










Based on content
1. Fiction or “literature of power”
 Myths
 poems
 short stories
 novels
 Plays
2. Non-fiction or “literature of knowledge”
 Biographies
 News


T H E 7 L I T E R A R Y S TA N D A R D S

1. Universality
It appeals to everyone regardless of culture, race, sex, and time which are considered significant.
2. Permanence
It endures across time and draws out the time factor: TIMELINESS, occurring at a particular time, and TIMELESSNESS, remaining invariably throughout time.
3. Artistry
It has an aesthetic appeal to everyone and thus possesses a sense of beauty.
4. Intellectual Value
It stimulates critical thinking that enriches the mental processes of abstract and reasoning, making man realizes the fundamental truths of life and its nature
5. Suggestiveness – It unravels and conjures man’s emotional power to define symbolism, nuances, implied meanings, images and message, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experiences.
6. Spiritual Value
It elevates the spirit and the soul and thus have the power to motivate and inspire, drawn from the suggested morals or lessons of the different literary genres.
7. Style
It presents peculiar ways on how man sees life as evidenced by the formation of his ideas, forms, structures, and expressions which are marked by their memorable substance.

L I T E R A R Y D E V I C E S
 refers to the typical structures used by writers in their works to convey his or her message(s) in a simple manner to his or her readers.
 Literary Devices have two aspects. They can be treated as either Literary Elements and Literary Techniques.

Literary Elements
• have an inherent existence in literary piece and are extensively employed by writers to develop a literary piece.
1. Plot: It is the logical sequence of events that develops a story.
2. Setting: It refers to the time and place in which a story takes place.
3. Protagonist: “good guy”. It is the main character of story, novel or a play
4. Antagonist : “ bad guy”. It is the character in conflict with the Protagonist
5. Point of View: The person or entity through whom the reader experiences the story.
6. Conflict: It is an issue in a narrative around which the whole story revolves.
7. Mood: A general atmosphere of a narrative.
8. Tone: The “attitude” of the speaker, narrator as conveyed through the language of the piece.
9. Theme: It is central idea or concept of a story.

LITERARY TECHNIQUES
• are structures usually a words or phrases in literary texts that writers employ to achieve not merely artistic ends but also readers a greater understanding and appreciation of their literary works.
1. SYMBOLISM:
- It refers in using an object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.
Examples:
a. Pink - the fight against breast cancer
b. The Statue of Liberty – freedom
c. Roses stand for romance
2. FLASHBACK
- tells an interjected scene of the story that takes it back in time from the current point in the story and often used to tell the events that happened before another important event
3. FLASH FORWARD
- tells a scene that takes the narrative to a future time from the current point of the story
4. CLIFFHANGER
- tells and abrupt ending which places the main characters in a perilous situation with no resolution
5. FORESHADOWING :
- Important hints that an author drops to prepare the reader for what is to come, and help the reader anticipate the outcome .
Example:
 A pipe is going to burst, but before it does, the author writes a scene where the family notices a small dark spot on the ceiling, but ignores it.
6. IMAGERY
- It is the use of figurative language to create visual representations of actions, objects and ideas in our mind in such a way that they appeal to our different senses i.e:
 TASTE (gustatory imagery)
 SIGHT (visual imagery)
 SMELL (olfactory imagery)
 TOUCH (tactile imagery)
 HEAR (aural imagery)
Examples:
a. The room was dark and gloomy. -The words “dark” and “gloomy” are visual images.
b. The river was roaring in the mountains. – The word “roaring” appeals to our sense of hearing.
7. SIMILE AND METAPHOR:
- Both compare two distinct objects and draws similarity between them.
 The difference is that Simile uses “as” or “like” and Metaphor does not.
Examples:
a. “My love is like a red rose” (Simile)
b. He is an old fox very cunning. (Metaphor)
8. PERSONIFICATION:
- attribution of human qualities to something that is non-human like objects and animals.
Example:
a. The flowers are dancing beside the lake.
b. Have you see my new car? She is a real beauty!
c. My clock yelled at me in the morning.
9. HYPERBOLE:
- It is deliberate exaggeration of actions and ideas for the sake of emphasis.
Example:
a. I’m so sad that I’m drowning in tears!
b. I have got a million issues to look after!

L I T E R A R Y A P P R O A C H E S
FEMINISM
-Feminist literature is often associated with literary pieces written by women that deal with women in the society.
-It also involves characters which chide the common gender norms dominated with masculinity.
-This approach gives an impact to the voice of women.
NEW HISTORICISM
- It deals with the cultural context during writing of the piece of literature.
- This approach interprets literature for it’s meaning or idea in a particular socio-historical atmosphere.
FORMALISM OR NEW CRITICISM
- The formalists’ interpretation of work of art is formulated by the information and details of the piece itself.
- Formalists focus is on rhetorical and logical connections within the writing.