Literature

In my mind, Literature isn’t just a bunch of sentences written by who-knows-what hand and randomly published because it contains a lot of big words. To lawfully earn this title, there must be some element in the writing style; some streak that sets it apart from the rest of the written litter that sadly pollutes our libraries. Literature is something written, yes, and something read, but it’s also something that endures. Standing the test of time, there are the classics that have been with us nearly forever. Shakespeare, Dickens, Longfellow and Austen are household names for most of us. Their legacy of writing excellence is one of our greatest cultural treasures. But it is not after these pieces have lasted for centuries that we say, “ah, their work is great”. The moment one reads “Great Expectations”, for example, he doesn’t need to be told that it’s been proclaimed for 140 years steady. The way it was written, the manner in which it takes you up and fills your soul, was meant to last. It’s automatic. Even in today’s writing, this is the exact thing that separates the good from the bad; will it endure? Does it have the juice necessary to carry it through the deeps of history and back again? This, and only this, is worthy to be called ‘Literature’.

But why does true Literature survive and maintains it’s fresh and unstudied sparkle? Partly, I think, because it is truthful. It teaches us about the depth of human nature. And when reading it, man derives something of worth applicable to himself and his station in life. He can see life on the full scale, through another’s eyes, and it’s fulfilling. Not only is Literature honest, but it tells its truths in an expressive and passionate style. You yearn to read on and on, to explore the secrets seen and told only through the narrator. When an author has achieved this goal and infected others with his ingenuous enthusiasm, he has written a slice of immortality.

See what extensive branches there are in Literature; fiction (which may not be truthful in fact, but is in principle), poetry, journalism, mythology, memoirs, history. All of these strictly follow the theory stated above to the letter. If it’s truthful, expressive and filled with spirit, it will last through the ages, no question about it... That’s what I call Literature.