1) Literature is the artistic expression of thoughts, feelings, and imagination through language. It heightens awareness of human life and interprets experiences through beautiful language. 2) Literature appeals to wide human interests through universal themes like love, death, and humanity. It is a record of human dreams, ideals, failures, and experiences. 3) Literature can be defined comprehensively to include all written works, or more restrictively as works that aim to evoke beauty through form and ideas. It can also be studied technically for its rules and history.

1. Vidya Patil
Assistant Professor in English,
Government First Grade College, Humnabad.

2. “ Literature is a record of the best thoughts.”
- Emerson.
Literature is the artistic expression of thought
which is replete with feelings and imagination.
“ Literature consists of all the books where moral truth
and human passion are touched with a certain largeness,
sanity and attraction of form.”
- Lord Morley.

4. * Literature heightens our awareness of human life.
* Literature enables us to look at nature with new
eyes.
* Literature interprets with charm of language the
experiences and spiritual intuitions of man.
* Thought, Feeling, Imagination and Beauty are
the essential ingredients of literature.
* Literature is one of the most powerful instruments
for forming character. Writers teach us to know
man and know human nature.

5. “Great literature is simple language charged with
meaning to the utmost possible degree.”
- Emerson.
Literature is a record of man’s dreams and ideals,
his hopes and aspirations, his failures and
disappointments, his motives and passions, his
experiences and observations. It appeals to the
widest human interests and the simplest human
emotions. It knows no nationality, nor any bounds
save those of humanity.

6. The two qualities of literature which
distinguish it from other written
works are –
(a) universality of interest and
(b) artistic style.

7. SCOPE OF LITERATURE
1) Literature in it’s Comprehensive sense.
2) Literature in its Restricted and Ordinary
meaning.
3) Literature used in a Technical sense.
4) Literature of Knowledge and the Literature
of Power.

8. Literature in it’s
Comprehensive sense
Literature in it’s most comprehensive meaning
includes all the activities of the human soul in
general or within a particular sphere, period,
country or language and therefore embraces all
manner of composition in prose and verse,
scientific or purely literary, set down in writing
or communicated by word of mouth.

9. Literature in it’s
Restricted and Ordinary meaning
In the restricted sense in which we generally
employ the term, literature is that class of
writing which aims at rousing the feelings of
the beautiful by the perfection of form or
excellence of ideas or by both.

10. Literature used
in a Technical sense
In a technical sense, literature, in the first place,
is the study of the rules of literary composition
or what is called literary technique and secondly
to describe the different phases through which
the intellectual development of a people has
passed , in other words, to narrate the literary
history of a people.

11. The Literature of Knowledge
and the Literature of Power
According to De Quincey, there is first the literature
of knowledge, and secondly, the literature of power.
The function of the first is to teach, the function of
the second is to move. Literature of knowledge
speaks
to the discursive understanding of man. Literature of
power appeals to the higher understanding of reason
through affections of pleasure and sympathy.

12. CHIEF QUALITIES OF
LITERATURE
1) Artistic quality
2) Suggestiveness
3) Permanence
4) Universality

13. Artistic Quality
All art is the expression of life in forms of truth
and beauty, or rather , it is the reflection of some
truth and beauty which are in the world, but
which remain unnoticed until brought to our
attention by some sensitive human soul.

14. Suggestiveness
Literature appeals to our emotions and
imagination rather than to our intellect.
It is not so much what it says as what it
awakens in us that constitutes it’s charm.

15. Permanence
Literature is like a river in flood, which
gradually purifies itself in two ways –
the mud settles to the bottom and the
scum rises to the top.

16. Universality
Literature is great because of it’s universality. It is
powerful enough to supersede the narrow interests
of a class in favour of humanity as a whole. It is
occupied with elementary passions and emotions –
love and hate, joy and sorrow, fear and faith – which
are an essential part of our human nature. According
to Aristotle, literature indicates the universal
element,ie. What is true for all times and ages and
the particular ie. What is true of the men, events,
customs, culture and manners of an age.

17. LITERATURE AND LIFE
* Literature has close connection with life.
* Literature is the study of life.
* The subject matter is the presentation of life.
* Literature is the communication of the writer’s novel
and unique experiences of life.
* There is a vital and intimate connection between
literature and life which is inseparable.
* Literature manifests the subtle problems of life.
* Literature is the brain of humanity.

18. STYLE IN LITERATURE
* Language has an important bearing upon literature.
* Literature is the personal use or exercise of language.
* Language is the vehicle of thought.
* Thought and expression are inseparable.
* Language is the skin and body of thought.
* The characteristic of a great writer is that he will look
to the adequacy of language to thought.

19. CONCLUSION
The chief features of literature are as follows -
a) Intellectual element - Thought.
b) Emotional element - Feeling.
c) Element of imagination - Fancy.
d) Technical element - Composition and Style.

20. Literature expresses,
represents and communicates
experience by means of
language.

21. THANK YOU
Vidya Patil
Assistant Professor in English
Government Degree College, Humnabad.