Literature
With the development of language, the human imagination has found a way to create and communicate through the written word. A literary work can transport us into a fictional, fantastic new world, describe a fleeting feeling, or simply give us a picture of the past through novels, poems, tragedies, epic works, and other genres. Through literature, communication becomes an art, and it can bridge and bond people and cultures of different languages and backgrounds.
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Featured content, December 01, 2023
10 Captivating Contemporary Novels Set in the British Isles
These works of fiction will leave you dreaming of the wonderful and diverse lands of the British Isles.
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
Predictions for the end of the world that (obviously) didn’t come true.
Why Is There an R in Mrs.?
There’s no r in missus, so what’s it doing in the abbreviation?
How did Albert Camus die?
How did Albert Camus die?
Persian literature
Persian literature, body of writings in New Persian (also called Modern Persian), the form of the Persian language written...
Japanese literature
Japanese literature, the body of written works produced by Japanese authors in Japanese or, in its earliest beginnings, at...
African American literature
African American literature, body of literature written by Americans of African descent. Beginning in the pre-Revolutionary...
American literature
American literature, the body of written works produced in the English language in the United States. Like other national...
Literature Quizzes
The Trojan War Quiz
Who was the king of Troy during the Trojan War? Who was Troy’s greatest warrior, who was killed by Achilles? Test your knowledge....
Elizabethan Vocabulary Quiz
What is a “doddypol”? What is a “galoche”? Test your knowledge of Elizabethan language.
Women in Art and Literature: Who Said It?
“Beware of monotony; it’s the mother of all the deadly sins.” Match the quote to its speaker.
Who Said It? Quotations of Women in Literature Quiz
“It always seemed to me a sort of clever stupidity only to have one sort of talent—like a carrier-pigeon.” Match these...
Folklore of the British Isles Quiz
Who is the author of Beowulf? Who were the Celtic priests, teachers, and judges who assembled yearly to hear legal...
A Quick Quiz on Arthurian Legend
Which author brought the figure of King Arthur into literature? What is the name of King Arthur’s wife? Test your knowledge....
Ancient Libraries and Archives Quiz
Which Greek poet was appointed as the royal librarian of Antioch? What famous ancient university and Buddhist monastic center...
Italian Words Commonly Used in English
Which Neapolitan dialect word originally referred to a kind of stream that “washes down” a mountain? What English word comes...
More Italian Words Commonly Used in English
What Italian word literally means “bad air”? Which English word comes from the Italian for “foundry”? Take the quiz. Test...
Shakespeare's Monsters, Demons, and Giants Quiz
Which magical character chides witches for taking it upon themselves “to trade and traffic with Macbeth”? Which companion...
Literature Videos
Literature Subcategories
Folk Literature & Fable
Step into the world of folklore, fables, legends, tall tales, and epics, in which heroes are known to undertake arduous journeys and dragons, fairies, and giants abound. Stories such as these circulated long before systems of writing were developed; ballads, folktales, poems, and the like were transmitted exclusively by word of mouth before written languages took over, and they continue to captivate listeners and readers to this day.
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The Little Prince
fable by Saint-Exupéry
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Zora Neale Hurston
American author
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ballad
narrative song
Fictional Characters
Here you'll find some of your favorite fictional characters from literature, film, television, and the like, whether it's the analytical mastermind Sherlock Holmes and his endearing associate Dr. Watson or the menacing and helmeted Darth Vader, the ill-tempered Donald Duck, or the teenage sleuth Nancy Drew.
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Thor
fictional character
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Green Lantern
comic-book character
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Superman
fictional character
Journalism
Extra, extra! Although the content and style of journalism and the medium through which it is delivered have varied significantly over the years, journalism has always given us a way to keep up with current events, so that we always have our fingers on the pulse.
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Dan Rather
American newscaster
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Bob Woodward
American journalist and author
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Ida B. Wells-Barnett
American journalist and social reformer
Libraries & Reference Works
Looking to impress your friends with your expansive knowledge of historical events, philosophical concepts, obscure words, and more? We may be biased, but it seems fair enough to say that reference works such as dictionaries, encyclopedias, and textbooks have provided such a service for years (in some cases, hundreds or even thousands of years). You can look for them at your local public library, which likely stores books, manuscripts, journals, CDs, movies, and other sources of information and entertainment.
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Avicenna
Persian philosopher and scientist
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almanac
book
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Conrad Gesner
Swiss physician and naturalist
Literatures of the World
Literature knows no geographical bounds; authors can be found in nearly all corners of the globe. Find out more about regional literary styles and forms.
Articles
Literary Criticism
Everyone's a critic. But not all literary criticism involves judging the quality of a text; it can also focus on interpreting the meaning of a work or evaluating an author's place in literary history.
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Charles Baudelaire
French author
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George Bernard Shaw
Irish dramatist and critic
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T.S. Eliot
American-English poet, playwright, and literary critic
Literary Terms
Want to be able to distinguish your limericks from your haikus and your paeans from your panegyrics? Dive deep into literary terms and forms.
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haiku
Japanese literature
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picaresque novel
literature
- metaphor
Nonfiction
The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth! Or that's the idea, at least. Nonfiction works center on facts and real events. Although there is some debate about which kinds of literature qualify as nonfiction, the genre typically includes books in the categories of biography, memoir, science, history, self-help, cooking, health and fitness, business, and more.
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The Feminine Mystique
work by Friedan
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The Diary of a Young Girl
work by Frank
- nonfictional prose
Novels & Short Stories
Whether it's Don Quixote, Pride and Prejudice, The Great Gatsby, or The Fall of the House of Usher, novels and short stories have been enchanting and transporting readers for a great many years. There's a little something for everyone: within these two genres of literature, a wealth of types and styles can be found, including historical, epistolary, romantic, Gothic, and realist works, along with many more.
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graphic novel
literature
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The Great Gatsby
novel by Fitzgerald
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The Book of Negroes
novel by Hill
Oratory
I have a dream... Four score and seven years ago... It's not a fluke that these phrases came to be so widely known and remembered. Truly great and persuasive speeches elicit strong emotional reactions in their audiences and may have broad historical repercussions. Martin Luther King's I Have a Dream speech and Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, quoted above, are two iconic examples of successful oratory, as are Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury and Winston Churchill's first speech as prime minister to the House of Commons.
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Daniel Webster
American politician
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Cicero
Roman statesman, scholar, and writer
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Patrick Henry
American statesman
Plays
All the world's a stage, as Shakespeare put it in As You Like It; and the stage is where you'll find performances of works by such famed playwrights as Anton Chekhov, Eugene O'Neill, and the Bard himself, among many others.
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A Doll’s House
play by Ibsen
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A Midsummer Night’s Dream
work by Shakespeare
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The Cherry Orchard
play by Chekhov
Poetry
Poetry is a vast subject that encompasses much more than just your average Roses are red, violets are blue poem. Delve into the category of literature that Percy Bysshe Shelley called a mirror which makes beautiful that which is distorted; sonnets, haikus, nursery rhymes, epics, and more are included.
Articles
- heroic poetry
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epic
literary genre
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poetry
literature
