"LITERATURE STUDENT" ORIGIN AND CLEAR DEFINITION OF LITERATURE

"LITERATURE STUDENTS" ORIGIN AND CLEAR DEFINITION OF LITERATURE

 

The term literature derives its origin from the adjective, “Literate” which can be interpreted to mean ability to read and write. Literature in one breadth can  be said to be books, plays and poems that people think have value. Literature can also be regarded as a discipline, that can be studied as a subject in a formal setting. It is also all the books, Journals and articles written on a particular subject it has more to do with all printed information produced  by an organization that wants to sell something or tell people about something.
Literature is any print and unprinted materials that instructs, informs, entertains and educates people. Literature is a subject that mirrors people, their customs and tradition  for other to see and learn from.





 Finally,  literature is the caricature of human society and the activities embedded in it, there is a kind of reciprocal relations between literature and life.

•  A literature writer is called a Litterateur while a small group of people or society who knows a lot about literature is known as Literati

•    A genius in the field of literature is called Literatus. Literature epitomizes the history of aparticular group of people and their totality. However, it must be recognized that writers replicate actions, events and situations in their societies when writing.

Hence literature exposes us to the realities of life. It presents fictional and non-fictional account of human experiences.

    TYPES OF LITERATURE

Literature can be divided into two broad types. These are: fiction and non-fiction.

• Fiction: is a story invented by someone, it is not real. It is the creation of the writer with the aim of eliciting literary reactions from readers. It is a story that  centres on imaginary people and events.

  A writer of fiction may take a story line from real event, and people and then, change some details about them and subsequently add some imaginary characters in other to make it real and plausible e.g. The Beautiful Ones Are Not Yet Born. On the other hand, non-fiction is a direct opposite of fictitious literature.

•  Non-fictions are books are books, journals, novels, plays, poems and articles that centred on real facts or events which are not created or iomagined e.g. Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare.

SOURCES OF LITERATURE

Literature takes its source from:
(i)    Forklores
(ii)  Folk dance
(iii) Festivals
(iv) Rituals
(v) Myths
(vi) Legends
(vii) Customs and traditions.

• (i)  Folklore: These are traditional stories that take their roots from culture of a particular group of people. It usually a fictitious but elaborate story accepted by people and transmitted from one generation to another through the medium of speech.

 Folklore consists of FOLKLOROES These are persons admired by people in a particular society because, of their alleged positive and long time influence on their people and the society at large.
(ii) Folk dance. It is a kind of traditional dance peculiar to a particular area. The folk dance is usually done by ordinary people in a particular area for a long time.
 It is a style of popular music in which people sing and play with the aid of traditionally made guitars without any electronic equipment.


(iii)Festivals: Festivals are occasions where people usually perform with musical instruments, films and play to entertain. Festival is a period in a year regularly marked out for public gaiety and feasting. It is also a special occasion where people celebrate religious events, and it is usually associated mostly with public holidays.

Festival consists of traditional ceremonies which reveal the culture and traditional ceremonies which reveal the culture and tradition of the people.

• (iv) Rituals: This is a ceremony that is always performed in the same way, in order to mark an important religious obligation performed with sole mission of appeasing traditional gods and deities.

• (v) Myth: This is an idea or story that many people believe, which may or may not be true. It is also an ancient story, especially those ones invented in order to explain natural or historical events. Myth is also an imaginary story of gods, heroes, heroines and supernatural beings which the society hold in high esteem. This  form of story is usually communicated verbally.

• (v) Legend: It is an old, well-known story, often centres on advernture of brave people, or magical events. A legend is someone who is famous and admired for being extremely good at doing something.

(vii) Custom and Tradition: Custom is the habits or behaviours of the people in a particular society. Tradition on the other hand, is a way of life of people in a particular society that has existed for a very long time. It is also the way which things are done by a special group of people or community.