INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE

Literature can be defined as the collected oral and written works of a society that depict the
people’s beliefs, values, mores, and aspirations, as well as their struggles in life.

There are basically five literary forms or genres: novel, short story, play or drama, essay,
and poetry.

Elements of Fiction
Many approaches can be used in studying fiction, whether it be a novel or a short story. The
most common of these is called the “formalistic” approach. In analyzing or studying a work of
fiction using this approach, one has to look at the following elements of narration:

Setting and Atmosphere. Setting refers to the time and place of the story, or the “spatial” and
“temporal” environment. It answers the question, “When and where did the story happen?”

Characters. The characters are the persons involved in a story, although in some stories life
fables, the characters are not persons but animals. This element answers the questions “Who
are involved in the story?” and “To whom does the story happen?” Character is a very important
element in any work of fiction. To understand the characters in a story better, the reader must
be familiar with the following methods for delineating characters:
a.by description of physical appearance or mannerism;
b.by analysis of character;
c.by speech;
d.by reaction of other persons; and
e.by action of the character.

Plot refers to the events that happen within the story. It includes every major turning point that
the characters experience. In general, every story has a beginning, middle, and end. The
beginning is the exposition, where the key events of the story are set into action. The middle is
the rising action, where progressive complications raise the stakes. And finally, the end is the
resolution, where the story gets wrapped up.

Point of view (POV) is the perspective from which a story is told. In English class, you might
have learned about the four basic POVs:
First person (“I”)
Second person (“you”)
Limited third person (“he, she, they” in one character’s head)
Omniscient third person (“he, she, they” from an all-seeing perspective)

POV is closely intertwined with form and structure. For example, if your story takes the form of
advice offered to someone else, second person makes sense. On the other hand, if your story
takes the form of a diary entry, first person makes sense.
Style. This refers to the way a writer chooses words, arranges them in sentences and longer
units of discourse, and exploits their significance. Style is the verbal identity of a writer; his/her
unique way of seeing the world.

Irony. This technique indicates an intention or attitude that is opposite to what is actually
expressed. Irony is often characterized by grim humor and sarcasm, particularly when a writer
wishes to criticize indirectly. There are two kinds of irony, verbal and situational. Verbal irony
involves a character saying the opposite of what he or she means. Situational irony is when an
event contradicts the expectations of the characters, readers, or audience.

Symbolism. This refers to the use of an object to stand for or represent a person, thing or an
idea.

Non-Fiction
Non-fiction refers to prose literature based on facts, reason and logic. The most common form
of non-fiction prose is the essay, a short literary composition on a given subject, often analytic,
speculative or interpretative. It has the following kinds:

Familiar essay is the most familiar of all essays. It is considered as the nearest literary
approach to a leisurely chat with a friend. It subject is relatively unimportant and may
even be trivial.

Descriptive essay usually deals with some aspect of nature or animal life, as the name
suggests, it is a discussion of a given topic in a descriptive way.

Biographical essay (character essay) is a kind of essay whose subject is an individual

Critical essay has for its subject a work of art, literature, music, drama, motion picture,
painting, sculpture or some other form of creative expressions.

Reflective essay is concerned with serious and profound thoughts about the
fundamental values and problems of life.

Editorial essay is a feature of most newspapers and magazines and it influences public
opinion.

Narrative essay (story essay) tells a story and it has characters.

Poetry
Poetry is writing in language chosen and arranged to create a specific emotional effect. There
are many kinds of poetry, but the basic ones are narrative poem, lyric poem and dramatic poem.
 A narrative poem is usually a lengthy poem containing a story and it is also an
expression of an emotional state or philosophical reflection. The most common example
is an epic, a narrative poem that tells of the adventures of heroes and heroic deeds.

A lyric poem is a shorter poem that deals with strong emotions and the appreciation of
beauty.

A dramatic poem is one in which the poet expresses not his own individual emotion but
that of some person with whom he identifies himself. This type of poem also contains a
story, which unfolds through the narration of a character, but the emphasis is more on
emotion rather than on the story itself.

Slam Poetry
Simply put, poetry slam is the competitive art of performance poetry. These performances are
usually judged by five randomly selected members of the audience. Typically, the judges score
on a scale of 1–10 (one being the worst, ten being the best). The highest and lowest scores are
dropped and the middle three are kept. The highest score one can receive is a 30 and the
lowest is a zero.

In 1984, construction worker and poet Marc Smith started a poetry reading at a Chicago jazz
club, the Get Me High lounge, looking for a way to breathe life into the open mike format. The
series, and its emphasis on performance, laid the groundwork for the brand of poetry that would
eventually be exhibited in slam.

In 1986, Smith approached Dave Jemilo, the owner of the Green Mill (a Chicago jazz club and
former haunt of Al Capone), with a plan to host a weekly poetry competition on Sunday nights.
Jemilo welcomed him, and the Uptown Poetry Slam was born on July 25 of that year. Smith
drew on baseball and bridge terminology for the name, and instituted the basic features of the
competition, including judges chosen from the audience and cash prizes for the winner. The
Green Mill evolved into a Mecca for performance poets, and the Uptown Poetry Slam continues
to run every Sunday night.

Former Asheville, N.C. slam master Allan Wolf coined the phrase, “The points are not the point;
the point is poetry” prior to the 1994 National Poetry Slam in Asheville. The phrase has become
a mantra of sorts, reminding poets and organizers that the goal of slam is to grow poetry’s
audience.

New York City poet Taylor Mali, a member of multiple championship teams, has modified the
motto to read, “The points are not the point; the point is to get more points than anyone else,”
but we’re pretty sure he’s got his tongue planted firmly in cheek when he says that.
Spoken Word Poetry
Spoken word is an oral art that focuses on the aesthetics of word play and intonation and voice
inflection. It is a 'catchall' that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including hip-hop, jazz
poetry, poetry slams, traditional poetry readings and can include comedy routines and 'prose
monologues'

Performance Poetry
Performance poetry is poetry that is specifically composed for or during a performance before
an audience. During the 1980s, the term came into popular usage to describe poetry written or
composed for performance rather than print distribution.

Poetic Forms
There must be over a hundred poetic forms around the world (owing to the diversity of peoples
across the globe and poetry’s continuing growth in familiarity to younger generations and much
more varied audiences). The following are the most common poetic forms:
Cinquain
Tanka
Sestina
Found poem
Epic
Epigram
Haiku
Ghazal
Sonnet
Elegy
Sapphic
Renga
Limerick
Ballad
Prose poem
Haiku
Idyll
Ode
Villanelle
Acrostic
Blank verse
Free verse
Comma poems
Terza rima

More on poetry here https://poemanalysis.com/poetry-explained/elements-of-poetry/