Universality

1.2 UNIQUE FEATURES OR

CHARACTERISTICS OF
LITERATURE
Suggestiveness Intellectual
value

The qualities which distinguish literary writing from other writing

The Qualities of Literature
Artistry, being creative, aesthetic intent
Literature has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of
beauty.
Permanence Timelessness
A good piece of literature can be enjoyed by readers from
generation to generation. That is timelessness. FOR
EXAMPLE: Shakepeare's works are enjoyed as much today as
they were when they were first written, hundreds of years ago.
Intellectual value
It stimulate critical thinking that enriches mental
processes of abstract and reasoning, making
man realize the fundamental of truths of life
and its nature.
Qualities of Literature
Universality of appeal
Literature appeals to everyone, regardless of culture,
race, sex, and time which are all considered significant.
Spiritual value Man does not live by bread alone
Elevates the spirit by bringing out the moral values of a person or
situation.
Suggestiveness
It unravels mans emotional power to define symbolism, nuances, implied
meanings, images and messages, giving and evoking visions above and
beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience.
Style
Literature presents peculiar ways on how man sees life as evidence by
the formation of his ideas, form, structures, and expressions which are
marked by their memorable substance.
Literary works are primarily distinguishable from other
pieces of writing by their creative, or artistic intent.

A piece of literature differs from a specialized

treatises on astronomy, political economy,
philosophy, or even history, in part because it
appeals, not to a particular class of readers only,
but to men and women; and in part because, while
the object of the treatise is simply to impart
knowledge, one ideal end of the piece of
literature, whether it also imparts knowledge or not,
is to yield aesthetic satisfaction by the manner of
which it handles its theme. [1]
 The writer of this passage emphasizes the distinction
between writing of didactic purpose and literary
writing which has that other, aesthetic, dimension.
In fundamental terms literature is 'an expression of
life through the medium of language' [2], but
language used more profoundly than when used
simply to convey information.
 Literature is a vital record of what men have seen in
life; what they have experienced of it, what they have
thought and felt about those aspects of it which have
the most immediate and enduring interest for all of us.
[4]
So literary writing, having creative and artistic intent, is
more carefully structured and uses words for the
rhetorical effect of their flow, their sound, and their
emotive and descriptive qualities.
Literary writers can also employ tone, rhyme, rhythm,
irony, dialogue and its variations such as dialects and
slang, and a host of other devices in the construction of
a particular prose work, poem, or play.
 All fiction is a kind of magic and trickery, a
confidence trick, trying to make people believe
something is true that isn't. And the novelist, in a
particular, is trying to convince the reader that he is
seeing society as a whole. [5]
Literary writing is, in essence, a 'response', a
subjective personal view which the writer expresses
through his themes, ideas, thoughts, reminiscences,
using his armoury of words to try to evoke, or
provoke, a response in his reader.
 In conclusion, literary writing does embody certain
distinguishing characteristics.
It is a self-conscious, imaginative mode of writing
which uses words not just to convey information, but
as an art form. Ultimately it is a response to life.
Quiz

A B
A. Great literature is timeless
___ 1. Artistry B. The appeal of literature to
___ 2. Permanence our sense of beauty
C. Elevates the spirit by bringing out the
___ 3. Style moral values of a person or situation.
___ 4. Universality D. A good literature makes its impact across
the globe
___ 5. Spiritual value E. The peculiar way in which a writer sees
life, forms his ideas and expresses them.
___ 6. Intellectual value F. A literary work stimulates thought