Why Study Literature?

An Introduction of the Basic Concepts of Literature

What is Literature?
To understand this question better, it should be made clear that there is no one all-embracing definition of the term
literature. Gyasi (1973) defines it in its broad sense as anything that is written, while Rees (1973) sees it in the
narrow sense of writing which expresses and communicates thought, feelings and attitudes towards life. Moreover,
the following definitions will help you understand literature better.
Moody (1987) writes that literature springs from our in born love of telling a story, of arranging words in pleasing
patterns, of expressing in words some special aspects of our human experience.
Boulton (1980) defines literature from a functional perspective as the imaginative work that gives us Rs: recreation,
recognition, revelation and redemption.
Rees (1973), after describing what he regarded as literature, summed up that literature is a permanent expression in
words of some thoughts or feelings in ideas about life and the world.
All the above definitions describe literature from different perspectives. Still, there are certain things that are common
to them. They all recognize the fact that:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Literature is imaginative
Literature expresses thoughts and feelings
Literature deals with life experiences
Literature uses words in a powerful, effective and yet captivating manner
Literature promotes recreation and revelation of hidden facts.

Literature is thus summed up as permanent expressions in words (written or spoken), specially arranged in pleasing
accepted patterns or forms. Literature expresses thoughts, feelings, ideas or other special aspects of human
experiences.

Four Genres of Literature

Prose Fiction refers to the literary or written form of the language of ordinary speech. The longer fiction is called
novel, and the short fiction is called short story.
Poetry is written in verse, that is, it is usually in lines known as verse. The use of verse is hence different from the
biblical sense of chapter and verse. It simply refers to poems written in rhythmic patterns and lines.
Drama is primarily written to be performed or acted on stage. Therefore, the playwright usually writes his plays
character by character, scene by scene and act by act to forestall any confusion and to ensure correctness during
performance.
Non-fiction Prose is more or less true-to-life stories. They include biography, autobiography, travels and adventures
and the essay. All these types will be dealt with more fully in other modules.

What is Fiction?
Dr. Hallett defines fiction as any imaginative re-creation of life in prose narrative form. All fiction is a falsehood of
sorts because it relates events that never actually happened to people (characters) who never existed, at least not in the
manner portrayed in the stories. However, fiction writers aim at creating legitimate untruths, since they seek to
demonstrate meaningful insights into the human condition. Therefore, fiction is untrue in the absolute sense, but true
in the universal sense.
The very essence of fiction is the narration or the telling. A good narration should evoke two things to the
audience: verisimilitude, which means realism, suggests that a story must be compelling enough that the reader can
suspend disbelief, a text should be believable to the extent that it imitates life; and donnee, which means premise,
suggests something given by which the reader can judge the realism. These two are the ground rules for understanding
a well-written text. According to Prof. Anthony Tan, There is no accident in fiction, which means everything in a
story is not mere coincidence.

Types of Fiction
Fairy Tales Literary genre that is a story, usually for children, about elves, hobgoblins, dragons, fairies, or other
magical creatures. Examples: Hansel and Gretel; Jack and the Beanstalk; The Ugly Duckling

Fantasy Literary genre that is an imaginative or fanciful work, especially one dealing with supernatural or unnatural
events or characters. Examples: A Game of Thrones; The Lord of the Rings
Folk Tales Literary genre that is a tale or legend originating and traditional among a people or folk, especially
forming part of the oral tradition of the common people. Any belief or story passed on traditionally, especially one
considered to be false or based on superstition. Examples: Cinderella; Little Red Riding Hood
Tall Tales Literary genre that is an extravagantly and humorously exaggerated story of the backwoods exploits of an
American frontiersman. Examples: Johnny Appleseed; Billy the Kid; Buffalo Bill
Fable Literary genre that is a brief allegorical narrative, in verse or prose, illustrating a moral thesis or satirizing
human beings. The characters of a fable are usually animals who talk and act like people while retaining their animal
traits. Examples: The Boy Who Cried Wolf; The City Mouse and the Country Mouse
Adventure Literary genre pertaining to an exciting or very unusual experience, participation in exciting undertakings
or enterprises, a bold, usually risky undertaking, or hazardous action of uncertain outcome. Examples: Percy Jackson;
The Count of Monte Cristo; Gullivers Travels; Life of Pi
Mystery Literary genre whose plot involves a crime or other event that remains puzzlingly unsettled until the very
end. Examples: The Case of Benjamin Button; Sherlock Homes
Historical Literary genre pertaining to, treating, or characteristic of history or past events, based on or reconstructed
from an event, custom, or style, in the past, or having once existed or lived in the real world, as opposed to being part
of legend or fiction or as distinguished from religious belief. Examples: The Book Thief; Memoirs of a Geisha; A Tale
of Two Cities; The Other Boleyn Girl
Realistic Literary genre interested in, concerned with, or based on what is real, practical, pertaining to, characterized
by, or given to the representation in literature or art of things as they really are, or resembling or simulating life.
Examples: The Fault in Our Stars; To Kill A Mockingbird
Science Fiction Literary genre which is usually based on scientific laws, the authors knowledge of technological
possibilities, and the psychological nature of humans. Some sci-fi involves hard science such as space exploration,
chemistry, or physics, while some sci-fi deals more with futuristic or dystopian societies. Examples: Star Wars, The
Hunger Games, Divergent, Enders Game
Legends Literary genre which tells the story of a hero. May be based on facts and real history, but through numerous
retellings the hero and his or her deeds become larger than life, and some facts are distorted. Example: The Legend of
Robin Hood; The Legend of Maria Cristina Falls
Myths Literary genre which explains how something in nature looks or works. Example: why the spider spins a web

Elements of Fiction
PLOT is how the author arranges events to develop the basic idea; it is the sequence of events in a story or play. It is
the soul of the story. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and end. There are five
essential parts of plot:

Exposition (introduction) Beginning of the story; characters, background, and setting revealed.

Rising Action Events in the story become complicated; the conflict is revealed. These are events between
the introduction and climax.

Conflict Essential to plot, opposition ties incidents together and moves the plot. The conflict is a major
element of plot because it arouses curiosity, causes doubt, creates doubt, tension, and produces interest. A story
is not a story without a conflict. If there is no tension in the story, then, it is simply not interesting. There are
two types of conflict:
i.

Internal Struggle within one's self.

Character vs. Self (dilemma) Struggles with own soul, physical limitations, choices, etc.

ii. External Struggle with a force outside one's self.

Character vs. Character Struggles against other people.

Character vs. Nature Struggles against animals, weather, environment, etc.
Character vs. Society Struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of others

Climax Turning point of the story. Readers wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or
not? Consider the climax as a three-fold phenomenon:

iii. Main character receives new information.

iv. Main character accepts this information (realizes it but does not necessarily agree with it.)
v. Main character acts on this information (makes a choice that will determine whether or not objective is
met)
Falling action Resolution begins; events and complications start to fall into place. These are the events
between climax and denouement.
Resolution (Conclusion/Denouement) Final outcome of events in the story.

Plot Techniques:
Suspense frequently involves dilemma. Example, caught in a bad situation with a choice in a boating accident, you can
save either your mother or your husband from drowning.
Flashback is the plot technique wherein the author waits until the story is moving and then flashes back to reveal
biographical data or deep psychological reasons why a character acts as he/she does. It focuses more on why things
happened, rather than on what happened.
Foreshadowing is the plot technique wherein the outcome of a conflict is often hinted at or foreshadowed before the
climax and resolution. The clues are usually very subtle, you dont even realize they are foreshadowing clues until
youve finished the story.
In medias res is the Latin word for into the middle of things usually describes a narrative that begins, not at the
beginning of the story, but somewhere in the middleusually at some crucial point in the action. The term comes from
the ancient Roman poet Horace who advised to go straight at the heart of the story instead of beginning at the
beginning.
Surprise Ending (Plot Twist) an ending that catches the reader off guard with something unexpected.
CHARACTERS are the persons presented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are interpreted by the reader as being
endowed with moral and dispositional qualities that are expressed in what they say - the dialogue - and by what they
do - the action. It is the mental, emotional, and social qualities to distinguish one entity from another (people, animals,
spirits, automatons, pieces of furniture, and other animated objects). The grounds in a characters temperament and
moral nature, for his or her speech and action, constitute his or her motivation and epiphany. A character is either
reliable or unreliable.

A character can be:

Characteristics of a character can be revealed through:

Protagonist clear center of the story; all major events are important to this character
Antagonist opposition or enemy of the main character

his/her physical appearance

what he/she says, thinks, feels, dreams and what he/she does or does not do
what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her

Characters can be:

Round a dynamic character who does go through change and "grows" during a story.
Flat one-dimensional character; does not change as the story unfolds
Stock representative of a group or class (stereotypical)

Characterization is a means by which writers present and reveal characters by direct description, by showing the
character in action, or by the presentation of other characters who help to define each other.
POINT OF VIEW refers to the speaker, narrator, persona or voice created by the author to tell the story. There are
several variations of a POV:
i.

First Person Story told by the protagonist or a character who interacts closely with the protagonist or other
characters; speaker uses the pronouns "I", "me", "we". Readers experiences the story through this person's eyes
and only knows what he/she knows and feels.

ii. Second Person Story told by a narrator who addresses the reader or some other assumed "you"; speaker uses
pronouns "you", "your", and "yours". Ex: You wake up to discover that you have been robbed of all of your
worldly possessions.

iii. Third Person Story told by a narrator who sees all of the action; speaker uses the pronouns "he", "she", "it",
"they", "his", "hers", "its", and "theirs". This person may be a character in the story. There are several types of
third person POV:

Limited Probably the easiest POV for a beginning writer to use, "limited" POV funnels all action
through the eyes of a single character; readers only see what the narrator sees.

Omniscient the all-knowing narrator; the narrator knows and sees everything, and can move from
one character's mind to another. Authors can be omniscient narrators by moving from character to
character, event to event, and introducing information at their discretion.

SETTING is the time and location that a story takes place. When examining how setting contributes to a story, there
are multiple aspects to consider:

Place Geographical location; where is the action of the story taking place?

Time Historical period, time of day, year, etc.; when is the story taking place?

Weather conditions and seasons Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc.? Is it summer, winter, etc.?

Social conditions What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local color (writing
that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?

Mood or atmosphere What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Cheerful or eerie?

THEME is the central message, "moral of the story," and underlying meaning of a fictional piece; may be the author's
thoughts on the topic or view of human nature. Story's title usually emphasizes what the author. is saying. Various
figures of speech (symbolism, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony) may be utilized to highlight the theme.
Examples of common themes occurring in literature, on television, and in film are:
Things are not always as they appear to be.
Love is blind.
Believe in yourself.
OTHER POINTS TO CONSIDER:

Tone is the emotional coloring of a piece of writing. It reflects the authors attitude and the feelings that he/she
puts into his/her writing. It can be, for instance, be angry, demanding, or humorous.

Mood, by contrast, is the emotional feeling that the reader gets from the writing.

Style is the way in which the writer assemble words to tell the story, to develop an argument, dramatize the
play, and compose a poem. The language may be formal, or the standard, elegant words; neutral, or the
everyday standard vocabulary; or informal, the colloquial, substandard language, or slang.

Irony is the reversal of expectation or discrepancy in understanding.

i.

Verbal Irony is saying the opposite of what is meant, the first statement is positive followed by a negative
statement; sarcasm is the most common example.

Nice day (pouring rain outside)

Hi, shorty (saw a 7 ft. tall person)
Youre so smart. You cant even count 1 to 10.
ii. Situational Irony occurs when surprising details, often revealed near the end of a narrative, are
unexpected or contradictory.
A firemans house burning down.
An uncoordinated dance instructor.
An Olympic swimmer who drowns.
A marriage counselor whos been divorced three times.
iii. Dramatic Irony is the contrast between what one character says and what the reader or viewer knows to
be true. The unnamed narrator in Edgar Allan Poes The Tale Tell-Heart is the best example.
iv. Cosmic Irony (Irony of Fate) is the discrepancy between personal desires and the harsh limits of the
larger world. Walt Disneys Cinderella and William Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet are the best
examples.

Symbolism is an object, event, or a character that is used to represent an abstract idea. It is something that
stands for something else. Symbols are clues to what is going on in the story and often stand for key parts of
the theme. Examples are white dove for peace and wedding ring for eternal love.

Understatement is saying less than what you really mean.

Hyperbole is exaggeration for emphasis.

Thoughts to Remember:
There is no accident in fiction.
The plot is soul of the story.
A story is not a story without a conflict.