LITERATURE

LITERATURE

·       It is a fictional work of art.

·       It is of universal/eternal/enduring/permanent/perpetual interest to man.

·       It is meant for giving pleasure/joy.

·       It fulfills the primary function of aesthetic satisfaction/joy/pleasure by reason of its subject-matter and the manner/style/mode of treatment.

·       It is of lasting human significance because it continues to appeal to men for its subject-matter of enduring interest and the attractive mode of treatment.

·       In judging the merit of a piece of literature, both matter and manner have to be taken into account.

·       It is the representation of life through the medium of language. It is however, not an exact replica of life; it is an interpretation of life as life shapes itself in the mind of the writer.

·       Imagination of the writer is an important factor in the presentation of life that literature offers.

·       It yields aesthetic pleasure/joy/satisfaction and appeals to people of all ages and climes. It lives by virtue of the life which it embodies and the way in which it is presented.

·       It teaches, moves, charms and inspires the readers.

·       It gives higher truth which is eternal/permanent/perpetual. It gives wisdom and appeals to higher understanding through the emotions of pleasure/joy and sympathy/sorrow.

·       It deals with life as it is seen and experienced by the individual writer. It may be described as imaginative reconstruction of life.

·       An artist has to shape his plot or structure of emotions and events according to some artistic conventions and rules of his mind. He is a creator, and his creative activity lies as much in his imaginative selection of life as in his rendering the same with the help of linguistic tools.

·       It affects us subtly and profoundly.

·       Language is connotative and evocative rather than descriptive.

·       In a literary work, the very ‘slice of life’ is constructed according to certain artistic conventions.

·       A true artist transforms/transmutes the crude/sordid/bitter realities of life into beautiful things/stuffs by his imagination, feeling, and beautiful language which are the distinguishing traits of literature.

·       It is the harmonious combination/blend of thought and style that gives rise to a good literature.

·       A great work of art takes the readers to the very heart of truth and is eternally true.

·       Pleasure and profit are the two motives of the reading of literature.

·       It enlarges our sympathies and the pleasure is derived from the amplification of experience and enlargement of sympathies.

·       Romanic literature is a reflection of the deepest aspirations and yearnings of men who are more real than the actual living of men and women.

·       It ennobles and edifies our mind and soul as found in didactic (moral) works.

·       It heightens the imagination, quickens the sensibilities and widens the mental horizon of the readers.

·       It is discovery and insight into the truth.

·       It is “a criticism of life” and imitation of life.

·       It springs from life and is intimately connected with it.

·       It ennobles and edifies, besides providing entertainment for the idle hours of life. It stimulates the mind.

·       There are two categories of literature- Romantic and Realistic.

·       Literature divorced from life is no literature at all.

·       It deals with the varieties and the varied experiences of life.

·       “Variety is the spice of life”.

·       It has supreme/eternal/perpetual value.

·       It “frees, arouses, and dilutes the human mind”-Walt Whiteman.

·       It refreshes and invigorates the spirit.

·       It ennobles the emotions and vivifies the intellect.

·       A man without love of literature is a man without mind and heart.

·       “Personal experience is the basis of all real literature.

·       “Beauty is truth, truth beauty”-Keats.

·       “A great book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured upon purpose to a life beyond life”-Milton.

·       “Our sweetest songs are those that tell of saddest thought”.

·       It is a blend of fanciful and realistic elements.

·       It deals with the great drama of human life and action appeals to us.

·       It deals with the consequence of varied action.

·       It often makes man too abstract-minded and unpractical and encourages the attitude of escapism.