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- Cross-fertilization of literature and the arts now takes place more subtly, mostly in the use of parallel techniques—the rational dissociation of the Cubists or the spontaneous action painting of the Abstract Expressionists, for example, which flourished at the same time as the free-flowing uncorrected narratives of some novelists in the 1950s and ’60s.
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Nov 3, 2023 · They are all art, and they are all literature, in a sense. Today, we looked at a number of different forms of art and how they intersect with other mediums. We took examples of literary arts and used them to discuss the visual and literary arts in far more detail.
- Literature is an incredibly broad term, but it essentially refers to a number of different mediums through which oral, but generally written expres...
- Visual arts can be used in the literary arts through many different means, such as through illustrations. However, there is a long-standing relatio...
- It is possible that ancient cave paintings would have included performative components that entailed narratives. However, as the oral tradition in...
- This is often a particularly loaded question. It depends on whom you ask and how you were to define terms like art. If one were to only define art...
- This question may seem similar to the above, but it is actually different. One could argue about the definition of art from a metaphysical perspect...
- Overview
- The scope of literature
literature, a body of written works. The name has traditionally been applied to those imaginative works of poetry and prose distinguished by the intentions of their authors and the perceived aesthetic excellence of their execution. Literature may be classified according to a variety of systems, including language, national origin, historical period, genre, and subject matter.
For historical treatment of various literatures within geographical regions, see such articles as African literature; African theatre; Oceanic literature; Western literature; Central Asian arts; South Asian arts; and Southeast Asian arts. Some literatures are treated separately by language, by nation, or by special subject (e.g., Arabic literature, Celtic literature, Latin literature, French literature, Japanese literature, and biblical literature).
Definitions of the word literature tend to be circular. The 11th edition of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary considers literature to be “writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest.” The 19th-century critic Walter Pater referred to “the matter of imaginative or artistic literature” as a “transcript, not of mere fact, but of fact in its infinitely varied forms.” But such definitions assume that the reader already knows what literature is. And indeed its central meaning, at least, is clear enough. Deriving from the Latin littera, “a letter of the alphabet,” literature is first and foremost humankind’s entire body of writing; after that it is the body of writing belonging to a given language or people; then it is individual pieces of writing.
But already it is necessary to qualify these statements. To use the word writing when describing literature is itself misleading, for one may speak of “oral literature” or “the literature of preliterate peoples.” The art of literature is not reducible to the words on the page; they are there solely because of the craft of writing. As an art, literature might be described as the organization of words to give pleasure. Yet through words literature elevates and transforms experience beyond “mere” pleasure. Literature also functions more broadly in society as a means of both criticizing and affirming cultural values.
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Literary Hodgepodge
Literature is a form of human expression. But not everything expressed in words—even when organized and written down—is counted as literature. Those writings that are primarily informative—technical, scholarly, journalistic—would be excluded from the rank of literature by most, though not all, critics. Certain forms of writing, however, are universally regarded as belonging to literature as an art. Individual attempts within these forms are said to succeed if they possess something called artistic merit and to fail if they do not. The nature of artistic merit is less easy to define than to recognize. The writer need not even pursue it to attain it. On the contrary, a scientific exposition might be of great literary value and a pedestrian poem of none at all.
The purest (or, at least, the most intense) literary form is the lyric poem, and after it comes elegiac, epic, dramatic, narrative, and expository verse. Most theories of literary criticism base themselves on an analysis of poetry, because the aesthetic problems of literature are there presented in their simplest and purest form. Poetry that fails as literature is not called poetry at all but verse. Many novels—certainly all the world’s great novels—are literature, but there are thousands that are not so considered. Most great dramas are considered literature (although the Chinese, possessors of one of the world’s greatest dramatic traditions, consider their plays, with few exceptions, to possess no literary merit whatsoever).
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The Greeks thought of history as one of the seven arts, inspired by a goddess, the muse Clio. All of the world’s classic surveys of history can stand as noble examples of the art of literature, but most historical works and studies today are not written primarily with literary excellence in mind, though they may possess it, as it were, by accident.
The essay was once written deliberately as a piece of literature: its subject matter was of comparatively minor importance. Today most essays are written as expository, informative journalism, although there are still essayists in the great tradition who think of themselves as artists. Now, as in the past, some of the greatest essayists are critics of literature, drama, and the arts.
- Kenneth Rexroth
Nov 21, 2023 · Frequently Asked Questions. What are examples of art and literature? There are many examples of art and literature that operate in conversation with one another. For instance, ''The Man...
- There are many examples of art and literature that operate in conversation with one another. For instance, ''The Man with the Blue Guitar'' by Wall...
- Art and literature are fundamental to the human experience. They allow people to express themselves and to connect to one another. All human cultur...
- Art is difficult to define because it is so broad. Essentially, it is any creative expression in any number of mediums, including visual arts, pain...
- Art and literature are closely connected. There are many paintings based on literary works and vice versa. Literature and art are also often part o...
- Painting. Painting, a fundamental form of art falling under the broader category of visual arts, involves applying pigment onto a surface to create images and evoke emotions.
- Sculpture. By creating three-dimensional forms using different materials, you can create amazing sculptures! Sculpture can be considered one of the most versatile arts since you can use materials such as clay, metal, wood, stone, and much more for your sculptures.
- Architecture. Architecture combines functionality and aesthetics, allowing designers and architects to shape the built environment in innovative and visually appealing ways.
- Literature. Literature, both fiction and nonfiction, is an art form that has a rich and diverse history! From the ancient Sumerians to the culture of the Roman Empire, literature has served as a medium for expression and storytelling.
May 6, 2024 · Renaissance art, painting, sculpture, architecture, music, and literature produced during the 14th, 15th, and 16th centuries in Europe under the combined influences of an increased awareness of nature, a revival of classical learning, and a more individualistic view of man.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Theories of literature must be based upon direct experience of the living texts and so be flexible enough to contain their individuality and variety. Perhaps the best approach is historical, or genetic. What actually happened, and in what way did literature evolve up to the present day?
Oct 25, 2020 · There are three main forms of art – visual, literary, and performing. The art form can be unique and common, powerful and subtle, bold, and unassuming all at the same time. Art is a form of expression of one’s emotions, feelings, thought, needs, and desires.
