What is the definition of literature?

There are many definitions of literature:

1. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms, in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature, literature is a body of written works related by subject-matter, by language or place of origin, or by dominant cultural standards.

2. According to http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Literature, the word "literature" has different meanings depending on who is using it and in what context. It could be applied broadly to mean any symbolic record, encompassing everything from images and sculptures to letters. In a more narrow sense the term could mean only text composed of letters, or other examples of symbolic written language (Egyptian hieroglyphs, for example). An even more narrow interpretation is that text has a physical form, such as on paper or some other portable form, to the exclusion of inscriptions or digital media.

3. In Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary, Literature is:
• books, poems, etc that are considered to be art
• written information about a subject

4. In Collins Dictionary, literature is written information produced by people who want to sell you something or give you advice.

5. The Muslim scholar and philosopher Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (702-765 AD), in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature, defined Literature as follows: "Literature is the garment which one puts on what he says or writes so that it may appear more attractive."

6. In Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, literature is writings valued as works of art, especially novels, plays and poems.

7. Panghilito Luigi, in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature, literature is a slice of life that has been given direction and meaning, an artistic interpretation of the world according to the percipient's point of views.

Based on the definition above, we can conclude that literature is literary work (fictions, non-fictions, plays, etc) from an author which has given a contribution, such as an advice, to the world.

2. What is the distinction of literature?

An Old English language also called Anglo-Saxon, was the earliest form of English. The Old English literature includes poem (e.g. Beowulf) and prose (e.g. Laws). However, the English which was used from about 1100 to about 1500 is called Middle English. As we should expect, the language had changed a great deal in the 7000 years since the time Beowulf and it is much easier to read Chaucer than to read anything written in Old English. In Middle English language prose is religious. Meanwhile, the writers of these early plays are unknown until we come to the beginning of the sixteenth century. In addition, we know that in Elizabethan era has a great poetry, prose and drama and it is same in John Milton era. But, in Restoration literature, there was not poetry. It was almost as great as the change in government. Then, English poets grows in 1660-1798, 19^th century until later 19^th century. So, all in all, we realize that English literature give us a lot of news about the previous literature.

References
Cambridge University. 2004. Cambridge Learner's Dictionary, 2nd edition. Cambridge University Press, UK.

Collins. 2003. Pocket Dictionary & Thesaurus. HarperCollins Publishers, Great Britain.

Thornley, G. C., and Roberts, G. 1986. An Outline of English Literature. Longman Inc., New York.

Oxford University. 2000. Oxford Learner’s Pocket Dictionary, New Edition. Oxford University Press, New York.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literature

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