INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE
Meaning of literature.
The term literature has different meaning but here the term is used in the sense of showing the way a person can make representation of what is taking place in the society artistically.
Thus, as Literature depicts on what people does in their daily lives, then it have some connectedness with human life.
Origin of literature.
LITERATURE IS SAID TO BE THE WORK OF ART BECAUSE;
(i) Skillful and creative use of language. Literature uses language creatively, a language that deviates from ordinary language. It uses figures of speech that have an extra meaning than what they ordinarily imply.
(ii) Skillful creation of the setting. In literature, the author creates the setting (place and time) that is relevant to the events that are taking place there. That is to say that,
what is happening largely depends on its setting. The village setting will have themes that are in line with rural life like polygamy, FGM, superstition, wife beating and the like. On the other hand, the urban setting is expected to address issues like prostitution, unemployment, HIV etc. the setting can be real or imaginary.
(iii) Artistic choice and presentation of the plot (incidents). Incidents in literature are presented in an artistic way that makes the audience think that they are actually happening. The use of straight forward narration, flashbacks, flashforward and foreshadowing add artistic effects to a literary work.
(iv) Skillful use of narrative techniques (styles). Literature uses different techniques in presenting the message to the society. It uses techniques like point of view, suspense, dialogues and monologues which make literature a literary of work.
(v) Skillful creation of the characters. Literature employs imaginary characters that represent real people in the society. In literature, even inanimate beings may be personified in a way that they represent human qualities. This adds artistic to the literary work. In some cases, the author may assign names to the characters that are congruent with their behaviour.
(vi) Literature has aesthesis (emotional appeal). Like other works of art, literature appeals to the emotion of the readers or listeners them a sense of enjoyment and pleasure. Literature can affect someone’s mood from sadness to happiness and vice versa. (Mwita 2020)
FFERENCES BETWEEN LITERATURE AND OTHER WORKS OF ART
| LITERATURE | OTHER WORKS OF ART |
| (i) Literature uses language. | Other works of art don’t use language |
| (ii) Literature uses characters | Other works of art have no characters |
| (iii) Literature has setting | Other works of art have no setting |
| (iv) Literature has form and content | They don’t have except modality |
| (v) Literature has performance | They are just presented for viewing |
| (vi) Literature reveals mood of the writer | Other works are speechless |
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN LITERATURE AND OTHER SUBJECTS
| 1. Literature is imaginary. It describes imaginary events or things which are not real | Other subjects deal with facts or things which have real taken place such as colonialism |
| 2. Literature uses figurative language. Language used in literature consists of a lot of figures of speech including Imagery and symbolism | Other subjects use only literal language. |
| 3. Literature has an entertainment role because events are created so as to entertain the readers or the audience | Other subjects do not aim to entertain, they are aimed to inform and not to entertain |
| 4. Literature does not follow the rules of grammar. Writers in literature are free to violate the rules of grammar. Eg. Ellipsis, poetic license etc. | Other subjects must follow the rules of grammar for formality. Subjects like English, History and Biology must follow the rules of grammar. |
| 5. Literature uses imaginary characters such as Baroka in “The Lion and the Jewel” | Other subjects like civics and history talks about true people; For example Mandela and Nyerere. |
| 6. Literature is divided into form and content, it has further form elements like title, setting, style plot and characterization | Other subjects are not divided into form and content. |
| 7. Literature is aesthetic because it creates taste and pleasure that appeals to the readers minds | Other subjects are not aesthetic as they don’t create taste and pleasure that appeals to the readers minds |
