The Characteristics of the literature More recognizable are their symbolism, expression, language, verisimilitude, emotionality, catharsis and referentiality. All of them give meaning to this art so old.
Literature, from Latin 'litterae', is inscribed within the Fine Arts as a set of texts or stories that use the word to evoke reflections, feelings and / or emotions in those who read them.
Such texts can be narrative, descriptive or reflective works on a real or fictitious event.
Although it usually has a poetic character, that term is also used to designate all works available on a certain area of knowledge or on a specific author: pedagogical literature or Piagetian literature, for example.
In relation to its evocative character, literature uses disciplines such as grammar, rhetoric and poetry, sometimes altering its rules with the purpose of generating in the reader certain emotions.
Its origin is not related to that of writing because of the pre-eminence of oral tradition among the first human civilizations and, therefore, the first known texts are not considered literary.
It is believed that the first literary text is the Epic of Gilgamesh , Epic poem inscribed in clay tablets with cuneiform script, by members of the Sumerian civilization, presumably from an oral account.
The Iliad and the Odyssey , Whose origin is located in Greece Approximately in the 8th century BC, are also considered precursors of what is known today as Western literature.
However, in the East, the poem Lisao (Pain of remoteness), of Qu Yuan, evidences that also there developed a poetic tradition as early as between 1765 to 1122 a.C. In full force of the Shang dynasty.
Characteristics of the literature
Some of the characteristics of the literature that can be mentioned are:
1 - Symbolism
A literary work usually represents a person's interpretation of a particular fact and that interpretation is usually exposed with connotative language, so it will have as many meanings as readers.
In addition, its greater semantic load can be condensed in small fractions of the text, scenes, passages, that can transcend in the time. For example, the fight against the windmills, in El Quijote; Or"Being or Not Being"by Hamlet.
In short, they are texts that come to have multiple interpretations and that, even, are not exhausted with an explanation on the part of its author.
2- Expression
Closely related to the symbolic character of literature is the expressive aim of these texts.
Flexibility of grammatical rules, for example, or abounding in language resources such as images, onomatopoeia, etc., is allowed to transmit the interpretation of the fact or matter that the text deals with.
As in any work of art, the author uses at his discretion the resources at his disposal (painting, the word), to convey his ideas.
3- Language
The main resource that a writer has is, of course, the word, the language, and in the case of literary texts, this acquires a plasticity and, at the same time, a firmness that only the art allows.
The literary author uses the words in such a way that by substituting them (to paraphrase the text, for example), it loses expressive force and changes the connotation of the text.
It is usually a language that attends to aesthetics and that it should not be very elaborate or convoluted. It is rather how these words are inserted in the context and affect the sensitivity of the people.
Although it could be thought that in poetry, for example, only"beautiful"words are used, the truth is that a poem can have a very clear, plain and simple language, and evoke pleasant and transcendent emotions.
4- Likelihood
Although they do not always attend to real facts, literary texts usually refer to fictional facts in a way that makes them seem possible. This is and must be so, especially, in the narrative.
For example in The journey to the center of the earth , By Jules Verne, raises a fact that has not been proven, but that many come to believe as something true, thanks to the amount of scientific data that are exposed.
The latter, precisely, contributes to the verisimilitude (resemblance to reality) of the stories: that valid arguments are used in reality.
It also helps to show situations in the daily lives of people, such as the fact that a girl plays with animals or with imaginary friends, something that happens in a certain way in Alice in Wonderland .
In addition, it must be based on the fact that every reader makes a credulity pact (or metafictional pact), in which he"commits"to believe in the world and in the facts that the author shows him during his reading, even if he considers it Totally imaginary when I finish reading the story.
5- Emotivity
Although it has been said in previous lines, it is necessary to indicate it like a characteristic of Literature: the objective is to generate emotions.
The form and the resources that are shown in a text point to the reader being so involved in reading that he"lives"within the world created by the author and"feels"what the characters involved experience throughout the history.
Language also contributes to this because words related to human sensations and / or emotions abound: heat, cold, vertigo, fear, curiosity, etc.
6- Catarsis
Literature tends to abstract the reader from its own reality, so it can become an activity that helps to deal with some uncomfortable personal situation or with the simple need to enjoy a pleasant experience.
While, from the writer's point of view, it is an opportunity to empty much of the personal imaginary and drain feelings (positive or negative) and philosophical postures that inhabit the writer's psyche.
7- Referentiality
While literary works, such as poetry or narrative, may not necessarily be a reliable source of information about a particular event or character, they can give clues about different aspects of the time and environment in which it was written.
Whether it is the language used or the perspective adopted against the fact or person in question, one can inquire into the elements behind the work or the author. Think of the works of Shakespeare, for example, with his veiled criticisms of the status quo of his time.
Classification of literature in genres
As seen, the literature includes a wide range of texts, however there are four major categories in which it can be classified according to its form and purpose:
Narrative
It is a type of literature in which the texts relate an event or done in a clear and direct way. They do not have a limited extent and their style can be very varied.
He story , The micro-account, the novel , And even the chronicle , Are considered within the category of narrative texts.
Poetry
They are texts In which language becomes malleable to adapt to the form that is necessary to convey an idea metaphorically, with a high sense of aesthetics and even with some musicality.
Nor do they have a definite extension, have rhyme (which can be of different typologies), and can be subjected to metric calls when attempting to classify.
Dramaturgy
Here enter all those texts that are meant to represent Theatrically . His style is diverse and can use poetry and narrative, to show real or fictitious facts.
Whoever is dedicated to working with this type of literature receives the qualification of playwright.
Test
It refers to a kind of text Argumentative and descriptive in which an idea is raised, then defended or rebutted.
There is no page limit for this type of text and generally refers to actual facts.
Being art, these genres can intermingle in different situations for expressive purposes, and their rules can also be relaxed for the same reason.
References
- Encyclopedia of Characteristics (2017). 10 Characteristics of Literature. Recovered from: www.caracteristicas.co.
- Gudiña, Verónica (2008). Characteristics of the literature. Retrieved from: poemas-del-alma.com.
- Ordoñez Federico (s / f). Characteristics of a literary text. Retrieved from: litefran.blogspot.com.