"Literature" versus "literature"

Literature with a capital "L" is writing that is inventive, especially literature of recognized artistic value; it's writing of lasting value that imaginatively expresses ideas of permanent and universal interest.

Literati consider writing like this to be literature; other kinds of writing do not deserve the name. To them it consists of written works intended for serious reading, such as serious novels, comic novels with serious intent, historical works, biography, and personal or contentious essays.

Literature with a capital "L" can present knowledge that is either concrete or abstract; it can present knowledge that is either abstruse or simple. It can treat fictional subjects and objects or it can treat nonfictional subjects and objects. As a consequence, literature with a capital "L" can include writing that is both fictional and nonfictional.

But not all Literature with a capital "L" is creative. A novel isn't automatically creative writing just because it's constructed as a fictitious prose narrative of considerable length and complexity, portraying characters and usually presenting a sequential organization of action and scenes; nor is a short story automatically creative writing just because it's constructed as prose fiction under 10,000 words long.

To be creative a work of Literature must possess form and be expressive, as well as contain ideas of permanent and universal interest; it must be the product of an author's creative imagination and it must display originality of thought or expression. Regardless of a work's literary form or genre, a piece of literature isn't creative unless its author makes it so. So long as a piece of literature meets these criteria to a significant degree, it may be considered creative Literature, even if flawed to some degree.

Literature spelled with a lowercase "l"

Literature with with a lowercase "l" is everyday literature, literature not of lasting value. Clearly, in modern society quite a bit of writing is not literature with a capital "L." Cookbooks, diet and travel magazines and books, technical journals, and TV or billboard ads don't contain imaginative writing of permanent and universal interest. They don't count as literature with a capital "L," no matter how skillfully or cleverly they may be written. (Notes taped to the refrigerator also don't count unless they're heartbreakers.)

Literary works with a lowercase 'l" have many purposes. They might seek to entertain or divert, to inform about what's happening now, or to pass the time of day. Some forms of literature with a lowercase "l" seek to lay out objective and impersonal facts about the world that seldom or never change.

Works like these may be inventive or even demonstrate artistic value, but they are not writing of lasting value that imaginatively expresses ideas of permanent and universal interest. Hence, they are not works of Literature.

Literature spelled with a lowercase "l" can present knowledge that is either concrete or abstract; it can present knowledge that is either abstruse or simple. It can treat fictional subjects and objects as well as nonfictional subjects and objects. As a consequence, literature with a lowercase "l" can include writing that is both fictional and nonfictional.

Literature with a lowercase "l" can be writing that is creative or uncreative, depending upon its purpose and upon the quality of the author's contribution.

literature as any kind of printed material

The word literature is derived from the Latin words litteratus, meaning learned, scholarly, a person who can read and write, a person familiar with literature. Thus literature, being learned, and reading and writing are closely related ideas that apply both to written works and to the people who write them—to the literati.

What are these basic requirements for writing to be literature according to the literati?

• A written work is literate if it is well-written, and characterized by lucidity, polish, or the like.
• A person who is literate has or shows knowledge of literature.
• A written work or a person is learned if it or he is skillful, has or shows much knowledge, is scholarly, erudite, or connected with or involved with the pursuit of knowledge, especially scholarly knowledge but also knowledge of the ways of the world.

By definition, to be literature a work must be written and read. Technically, that means that plays and other kinds of performances are excluded from this classification unless they are written primarily with the intention of being read, not acted, as in a play or opera. Also excluded on technical grounds are poems, which are written primarily to be heard, not read, and unwritten oral poems, such as the works of the classic bards.

However, today most people ignore these technical considerations. Most contemporary experts agree that these kinds of considerations are dismissible fine points; the modern inclination is to apply the term literature to acted plays and to poetry read out loud, so long as these works meet all the other basic requirements for literature.

more about the meaning of literature

As noted above, the term literature has diverse meanings. For example, in its broadest sense, literature includes any type of writings on any subject. And, in other, narrower senses, literature connotes the body of artistic writings of a country or period, as with the phrase, English literature of the 16th century; or it denotes works characterized by beauty of expression and form and by universality of intellectual and emotional appeal.

Some alternate meanings for the term literature:

• Writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features.
• Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value.
• A literary work or production.
• The art or occupation of a literary writer.
• A body of writings in prose or verse dealing with a specific language, period, people, or place, such as the literature of Iceland.
• The writings dealing with a specific subject.
• The profession of a writer or author.
• Polite learning; literary culture; appreciation of letters and books.
• A literary work or production.

Something also may be called literature if it is:

• Printed material, such as circulars, leaflets, handbills, or literature, which describes objects, places, company products, and the like.
• Printed material produced by a professional, amateur, or private individual.
• Writings in which expression and form, in connection with ideas of permanent and universal interest, are characteristic or essential features, as poetry, novels, history, biography, and essays.
• Imaginative or creative writing, especially of recognized artistic value.
• A literary work or production.
• The profession of a writer or author.
• The art or occupation of a literary writer.
• A body of writings in prose or verse dealing with a particular subject, for example the body of writings:
  • Of a specific language, period, or people, such as the literature of Iceland or of the literature of genetics.
  • Produced by scholars or researchers in a given field.
• A musical score or composition of a certain kind, such as that written for a specific instrument or ensemble, such as symphonic literature.

According to popular usage, something or somebody might be literary if he, she, or it:

• Pertains to books and writings.

• Pertains to authorship or literary style.

• Is versed in or acquainted with literature.

• Is well-read.

• Pursues literature in a professional capacity, such as a writer, teacher, or critic.

• Is characterized by an excessive or affected display of learning; stilted; or pedantic.

• Prefers books to actual experience.

• Is bookish.

• Creates literature or deals with literature in a subordinate way, as a publisher, critic, scholar, or philosopher

belles-lettres—A minor clarification

Belles-letters (also belles lettres) is another literary term with more than one meaning. In fact, there are two possible meanings:

1. Light, elegant, and stylish writing that is that is excessively refined, usually on intellectual or literary subjects characterized by aestheticism and minor in subject, substance, or scope.
2. Literature regarded for its aesthetic values rather than for its didactic or informative function.

Belles-Lettres is a French term meaning beautiful or fine writing. This style of writing became popular during the 18 century and before, a bygone era when people had the time to write and read carefully-crafted, airy prose and cared enough to take the time to do so. This kind of writing was especially fashionable and flourished in France, and also in England. Hence the French spelling.

Sometimes the term refers to any and all literature. In such cases, it's scope includes all literary works, especially fiction, poetry, drama, or essays, that are valued for their aesthetic qualities, originality of style, and tone, especially with regard to the language used rather than for their informative or moral content, but sometimes also with regard to the visual typography employed. The term, which does not often appear in modern contexts, thus can be used as a substitute for the term literature.