Literature

Literature is a sort of aesthetic expression, usually involving words, but can be made of patterns or symbols. Most people think of literature as novels, but it can be anything you read, write, or create, as long as it has a special meaning. For example, a regular old to-do list is not literature, while a combination of certain symbols can be considered such.

Coleridge gave succinct expression to the essence of literature when he said, “Prose is words in their best order; poetry is the best words in their best order.” I don’t think that this should mean that poetry is the ultimate literary art or the purity of expression to which prosaic writing aspires. Yet I think that some have certainly claimed as much for poetry. And perhaps Coleridge too insinuates that poetry is superior in his definition. This can be contested, but what is more certain is that literature involves words, style, and excellence. These are the basic elements that compose literature in an broad sense—the variables that remain can specify an indeterminate number of genres.