Understanding Literature - An A-Z post

To me, literature is one of those things that you presume you must know something about, but when you actually stop to think about what it actually means I come up a little short.

When I think of literature, my mind wanders to period dramas based on Jane Austen or Charles Dickens, and I've often thought it applied to works written before the 20th Century.

Studying my current module has changed my views, particularly as we have been reading texts from this century. It's not necessarily the era that determines whether something is considered to be literature or not.

It's more about what the text has to say, the message it's trying to get across. The story or theme may be meant as a statement about the times and places the author is living in, or an optimistic look into the future.

I'm still relatively new to this way of thinking about books and what I'm reading, and I love how my ideas are evolving as I learn more about styles, authors and eras.

What are your thoughts on what literature is?





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This post is part of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. To get involved and check out other blogs taking part just click here. You won't be disappointed!


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