Literature: The Language Art

   Literature is written art--art in which a writing device is used to put words on paper. Here are some basic kinds of literature:

fiction
stage play
poetry/song
literary essay
creative nonfiction
screenplay
comic strip script
video script
comic book script

     Though all forms of literature are written, some of them are meant for performance as are plays and video scripts, and some are mixed with visual forms to become comic books, cards, or posters.  Some forms of writing are, primarily, a stage art or visual art. Stage plays are the obvious example. However, such works also are very highly respected as written literature, too: art that can be both visual and literary.

     In addition, some literature is meant to be read out loud. Poetry and plays are examples. Poetry and plays often come fully alive only when read out loud, even if this means people must read them out loud when alone. In short, to fully appreciate poetry and plays, people should perform them.

  

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What Is A "Story"?

    Most forms of literature tell, in some way or another, stories. Stories can be true or made up, stories are in songs and in plays, they may be found in simple poems and in complex speeches, and they exist in novels and short fiction.
    Perhaps the easiest way to understand how both content and style form a beautiful, moving story is to look at the basic plan or structure of storytelling.
That structure often may be summarized as follows:

plot--events with a purpose

character--people talking and acting

description--surroundings and symbols

"Plot" is the basic plan of a story. It is the person, problem, and solution-- the hero/heroine, obstacles, and outcome. It is the "Once upon a time X had a problem with Y" sentence often found in some form or way in the first page of a story. It is also the series of events that the good characters go through--or take upon themselves--to try to get to a happy ending.
"Character" is the characterization or development of the people in a story. Character means that the reader gets to see characters talking, thinking, feeling, and acting. They experience difficult times and pleasant times. Their talking and acting demonstrates their hopes, dreams, inner and outer selves, needs, and pasts.
"Description" means well described settings, sensory details about the characters and their actions, and, often, good simile, metaphor, and other use of symbols to help us see what people and things in the story symbolize or stand for.
Let's look at each of these three elements of stories in turn.

Plot--The Plan of the Story 
    "Plot" is the basic structure, skeleton, or direction of a story. It is who did what to whom, when, and why.


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 The difference between just an event and a plot is that an event is, simply, a description of something that has happened. But a plot is a description of how a person goes through change.
This change, this pattern, has been described in a number of ways. Here are some:

person hero/heroine(s) good person(s) main character

problem villain(s) bad person(s) the obstacles

solution goal resolution end

     Someone or some group of people that are basically good have to be at the center of the story, they must have problems of some kind, and they must try to reach a goal or end to their problems, or create a successful change. They don't always win--some of the best tragedies show people losing--but they must try with all their heart.

     It may help to imagine the plot of a story as a character battling to climb over a mountain of trouble in his or her way:

   The "rising action" is the events leading to reaching the goal (or forever failing to reach the goal).  The "falling action" is the end of the story--what happens after the denouement, as a result of it.  Stories usually are composed mostly of rising action.  

    Observa la siguiente historieta y señala los distintos momentos narrativos a los que alude el texto anterior.

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What is the purpose of literature?

 Literature sets the example both in content and in style for the finest communication that can come through voice, paper, or visual play.

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    Study the literature of a race or people, and you have studied the marks they have tracked through time. It is impossible to know most races or people in history without reference to their literature.

    Another purpose of literature is entertainment. This is easily forgotten in the rush to consider the intellectual, ethical, and social importance of various literary works.
    However, part of the definition of "great literature" is that it has been able for many years to entertain people very well indeed. Such entertainment might cause horror and sadness as well as--or instead of--laughter and excitement. Whatever the emotion, great literature gives pleasure.

Another purpose of literature is self-expression.  And reading great literature offers readers the tools for such self-expression: one learns the elements of literature, and then he or she can practice them.

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  A final important purpose of literature is that it helps people discover themselves. It gives readers insight into their feelings, thoughts, pasts, futures, and ultimate values. In a sense literature is perhaps the oldest and most common form of psychology, one available to readers of all abilities and interests. And if literature is like having a psychologist on the shelf, ready to take down and read whenever one wishes, great literature is like a great psychologist, giving important insights to readers that were previously unavailable to them.

  Después de leer este texto, observa la secuencia de imágenes:

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¿Te animas a realizar una caricatura que exprese tu propia reflexión sobre la importancia de lo literario?
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