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In the 1400s, the first type of children's literature was introduced to the world. Children's literature began with picture books. In the years that followed, children's literature became more popular, as the art of storytelling began to be written down. Today, there are many types of children's literature, ranging from the original... more »
If your college literature class makes you sit in back of the class with a hand covering your closed eyes and a teacher standing a few feet from you, this article is for you. more »
Children's literature has been around since the fifteenth century. It began with picture books, and progressed from short stories that recorded oral traditions to full-blown novels that contained social commentary and the retelling of myths. From there, children's literature evolved into autobiographical writing, serial novels and films. more »
Bookworms, unite, even if you’re faking it. Whether for lack of time or interest, keeping up with literature is not the easiest feat. Best-selling authors churn out books faster than the average person can read them and with the slew of titles already in existence, it’s almost impossible to play catch up. Read on for a lesson in how... more »
While not all graduate programs in literature or writing require the Literature in English GRE, if you’ve got to take it, you’ll need to prepare. Taking this monster of a test is the easy part; scoring high enough to get into your first choice school is tougher. The Literature in English GRE is scored in two ways: by raw score and by... more »
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Many people within and outside academia consider the study of children's literature a light subject. However, anyone who has spent time studying... more »
Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter), and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters (as in the phrase "Arts and Letters"). In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and nonfiction.
Definitions
People may perceive a difference between "literature" and some popular forms of written work. The terms "literary fiction" and "literary merit" often serve to distinguish between individual works. Critics may exclude works from the classification "literature," for example, on the grounds of a poor standard of grammar and syntax, of an unbelievable or disjointed story-line, or of inconsistent or unconvincing characters. Genre fiction (for example: romance, crime, or science fiction) may also become excluded from consideration as "literature."
History
One of the earliest known literary works is the Sumerian Epic of Gilgamesh, an epic poem dated around 2100 B.C., which deals with themes of heroism, friendship, loss, and the quest for eternal life. Different historical periods have emphasized various characteristics of literature. Early works often had an overt or covert religious or didactic purpose. Moralizing or prescriptive literature stems from such sources. The exotic nature of romance flourished from the Middle Ages onwards, whereas the Age of Reason manufactured nationalistic epics and philosophical tracts. Romanticism emphasized the popular folk literature and emotive involvement, but gave way in the 19th-century West to a phase of realism and naturalism, investigations into what is real. The 20th century brought demands for symbolism or psychological insight in the delineation and development of character.
Poetry
A poem is a composition written in verse (although verse has been equally used for epic and dramatic fiction). Poems rely heavily on imagery, precise word choice, and metaphor; they may read more at » http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature
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