Fictional Literature: An overiview part1

Introduction

Literature is a form of human expression. But not everything expressed in words—even when organized and written down—is counted as literature. Those writings that are primarily informative—technical, scholarly, journalistic—would be excluded from the rank of literature by most, though not all, critics. Certain forms of writing, however, are universally regarded as belonging to literature as an art. This type of literature is known as Fictional Literature.

Meaning of Fictional Literature

Fiction is derived from the Latin word fictum which means ―created. Fiction is a term used to denote anything, mainly stories or accounts that are not real. Can you recall the fairy tale or other stories that your mother or grandmother used to tell you about animals, monsters, or even human beings that existed in faraway countries or in primordial times. These are fictional narratives. Fiction is therefore any form of narrative that deals, in part or in whole, with events that are not factual, but rather, are imaginary and invented by its author When the term Fiction is used, it does not imply falsehood or lying. That is, you should not think the author is a liar. The foundation of a work of art in the real sense is on facts of truth about life. This is, however, painted using the writer’s imaginative and word power.

Have you ever read Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe? It is the true story of a Scottish seaman, Alexander Selkirk, that is coloured by the author’s power of imagination and vivid use of words and expressions. That facts are not presented in the way a historian will present it this is because in literature, the author has certain liberty in creating his own world by using words, i.e. language, the way the writer likes and feels the intention can be vividly presented. it is this additional liberty that makes a writer never a liar since all the works of art are creations of the writers’ imagination.

Why Fictional Literature is important?

Literature is about the human experience. The literature of great writers allows readers to transcend the boundaries of space and time and to construct iconic worlds within their minds. This guided imagination is the basis of the entertaining and transformative functions of literature.  At the heart of literature are the building blocks that help us realize the most important aspects of our human experiences. Literature helps us understand others and the world around us. Works of literature are windows on other worlds, and windows on the worlds of others. When we read books written by people from other backgrounds, we learn about and accept other cultures and ideas. We can learn about ways of doing things that are different from our own. This gives us a broader perspective and helps us think about things in a new way.

By reading and discussing world literature, and investigating different literary genres, we gain an understanding not only of the authors’ ideas but also of the cultural and historical context in which the ideas originated. literature helps us understand and relate to others who’ve had experiences similar to our own, such as illness or family problems (just as reading about the loss of another person helped me process my own). It helps us to give our own real-life meaning. When you read a work of literature, you can experience things that don’t happen in your life, and you can see yourself in different situations. You also learn about how people have dealt with problems throughout history, which can help you solve your own problems. Additionally, Literature can help you become more creative and improve “thinking outside the box. Literary fiction often leans heavily on the use of symbolism, allegory, and metaphor to project its power. All of which demands significant amounts of creativity on the part of the authors and their readership. In this way, literature functions as an immediate and direct appeal and stimulus to our creativity.

Characteristics of Fictional Literature

1.       Fictional Literature is Imaginative and fictitious

2.       It is subjective, used to express thoughts, feelings  and emotions

3.       The language in which it is expressed is figurative

4.       The meaning is always hidden and implicit