What is the Literature

Ada banyak pengertian-pengertian tentang sastra. Namun, berhubung aku dikasih tugas oleh my lecture harus mencari ten definitions of literature. So, hanya 10 pengertian dari terbaik yang terbaik yang aku ambil (itu menurutku sih...) dari hasil browsing. Well, let's check it out.....!!!

1.        Henry van Dyke

“Literature consists of those writing which interpret the meanings of nature and life, in words of charm and power, touched with the personality of the author, in artistic forms of permanent interest.”

Reference:http://www.scribd.com/doc/27042357/LITERATURE

2.  Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq (Muslim Scholar and Philosopher)

“Literature is the garment which one puts on what he says or writes so that it may appear more attractive.”

Reference: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27042357/LITERATURE

3.        Roman Jakobson (Russian Formalist)

“Literature is organized violence committed on ordinary speech”

Reference: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27042357/LITERATURE

4.        Ezra Pound

“Great literature is simply language charged with meaning to the utmost possible degree.”

Reference: http://www.scribd.com/doc/27042357/LITERATURE

5.        Salman Rushdie

"Literature is where I go to explore the highest and lowest places in human society and in the human spirit, where I hope to find not absolute truth but the truth of the tale, of the imagination and of the heart."

Reference: http://classiclit.about.com/od/basicsliteratureintro/a/aa_literaturequ.htm

  

6.        G. K. Chesterton

“Literature is a luxury; fiction is a necessity."

Reference: http://classiclit.about.com/od/basicsliteratureintro/a/aa_literaturequ.htm

7.         C. S. Lewis

"Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become."

Reference: http://classiclit.about.com/od/basicsliteratureintro/a/aa_literaturequ.htm

8.      Henry Miller

“Develop interest in life as you see it; in people, things, literature, music - the world is so rich, simply throbbing with rich treasures, beautiful souls and interesting people. Forget yourself.”

Reference: http://classiclit.about.com/od/basicsliteratureintro/a/aa_literaturequ.htm

9.        Alfred North Whitehead

"It is in literature that the concrete outlook of humanity receives its expression."

Reference: http://classiclit.about.com/od/basicsliteratureintro/a/aa_literaturequ.htm

10.    E.M. Forster

"What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote."

Reference: http://classiclit.about.com/od/basicsliteratureintro/a/aa_literaturequ.htm

Well, from conlutions above I can get point bahwa "Literature" atau dalam bahasa Indonesia "Sastra" adalah sebuah hasil dari pemikiran, experience.

Well, from definition above I can get point bahwa "Literature" atau dalam bahasa Indonesia "Sastra" adalah sebuah hasil dari pemikiran, experience.

Definition: What is literature? Why do we read it? Why is literature important?

Literature is a term used to describe written and sometimes spoken material. Derived from the Latin litteratura meaning "writing formed with letters," literature most commonly refers to works of the creative imagination, including poetry, drama, fiction, nonfiction, journalism, and in some instances, song. 

Why do we read literature?

Simply put, literature represents the culture and tradition of a language or a people. It's difficult to precisely define, though many have tried, but it's clear that the accepted definition of literature is constantly changing and evolving.

For many, the word literature suggests a higher art form, merely putting words on a page doesn't necessarily mean creating literature. A canon is the accepted body of works for a given author. Some works of literature are considered canonical, that is culturally representative of a particlar genre.