INTRODUCTION TO LITERATURE Compile by Santiana, S.S. M.Pd.

What is literature, anyway? Why do we study literature? How do you study literature? Is there literature that's worth studying? How do we make the distinction? How does one critically think about literature?

SOME DEFINITIONS Etymologically : 1.Literature is literally “acquaintance with letters” (Latin littera meaning “an individual written character/letter”). The term has come to identify a collection of texts. As a proper noun it refers to a whole body of literary work. 2.We are concerned more with imaginative or creative writing. The kind of writing that is not real. 3.A text is a creation of the poet/author/dramatist available to an audience and meant to create an impact – intellectual and emotional 4.Words are the literary artist’s tools. Literature is verbal art. Verbal art is a form of creative expression using words, (i.e. the ability to read, write, communicate (talking & listening) and comprehend.

5.Literature is a form of art.  narrows its meaning, equates literature to works of imagination or creative writing. 6. Literature is the art of written works. 7.Literature is a term used to describe written or spoken material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe anything from creative writing to more technical or scientific works, but the term is most commonly used to refer to works of the creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction (prose), and nonfiction. 8.Sastra (Sanskerta: shastra) merupakan kata serapan dari bahasa Sanskerta ‘Sastra’, yang berarti “teks yang mengandung instruksi” atau “pedoman”, dari kata dasar ‘Sas’ yang berarti “instruksi” atau “ajaran” dan ‘Tra’ yang berarti “alat” atau “sarana”.

Dalam bahasa Indonesia kata ini biasa digunakan untuk merujuk kepada “kesusastraan” atau sebuah jenis tulisan yang memiliki arti atau keindahan tertentu. Sastra atau Kesusastraan adalah pengungkapan dari fakta artistik dan imajinatif sebagai manifestasi kehidupan manusia (dan masyarakat), melalui bahasa sebagai medium yang memiliki efek positif terhadap kehidupan manusia (kemanusiaan).

We study literature because 1.It enriches us; for wisdom, for entertainment, for an understanding of kinds human experiences. 2.It is deep, beautiful and moving. 3.It is an excellent way to sharpen your close reading skills, enable critical thinking, and clean our general sense of art appreciation.

4. It feeds our souls. Great works of literature treat timeless themes that resonate with readers across centuries.

Literature introduces us to new worlds of experience. We learn about books and literature; We enjoy the comedies and the tragedies of poems, stories, and plays; and we may even grow and evolve through our literary journey with books.

Literature helps us get attuned with our feelings desires and sentiments like self- denial passion, romance, anger, wrath, and (etc...) teaches us role playing when you act out e.g. Shakespearean plays. It improves vocabulary by forcing to read more novels. Basically, just gets us thinking about the finer things in life.

Literature improves out spelling, grammar,vocabulary, enriches our mind, makes us more creative, and opens up a world of ideas and possibilities that you might not have necessarily thought of on your mind.

There are many critical ways to approach a text including the formalist, biographical, historical, textual, psychological, mythological, sociological, deconstructionist, feminist, or reader-response, semiotic etc. Formalist critics focus on the formal elements of a text. They examine the relationship between form and meaning, emphasizing how a work is arranged. This kind of close reading pays special attention to diction, figures of speech, plot, characterization, narrative technique, rhyme schemes, meter etc. Formalists look at how these elements work together to give kind to a work while contributing to its meaning. Information that goes beyond the text - biography, history, politics, economics, and so on - are regarded as extrinsic.

ANALYZE: What does the passage mean, literally? INTERPRET: What does it mean figuratively? How do you read it and what suggests that this is a valid interpretation? QUESTION: What problems are suggested by the reading? What philosophical question(s) does the reading inspire?

SYNTHESIZE: How does this reading compare or contrast in content/form with what you've read before? EVALUATE: The writing. What criteria do you use to establish this judgment? What defines a first rate poem, play, story etc ?

1.Lasting impression 2.Stretches the imagination, complex 3.Aesthetically pleasing, artistic 4.Message lines of culture and time 5.Accepted into the ‘canon/norm’ The important aspect  beauty, honesty and the truth

Apresiasi dalam suatu karya mempunyai tingkatan : (1) tingkat menggemari, (2) tingkat menikmati, (3) tingkat mereaksi, dan (4) tingkat produktif.