Thread by @literoseious

Let us discuss the term "Literature" in this thread.

#Literature #literatura #SundayThoughts

Origin of word literature:

Littera = A letter or an alphabet
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Litteratura = Writings.
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“Literature”.

#Literature #literatura #Literary

In English, the earliest usage of the word “Literature” can be found in the 1385 poem Eugenia, written completely in old Scottish dialect.

#Literature #literatura #History

In those days, “literature” meant polite learning. And the man of letters or the man of literature meant, “man of a wide reading”.

#Literature #literatura #literary

Soon the meaning of the word expanded and now, along with the “man of wide reading” it also meant, “an ability to read”.

#Literature #literatura #literary

The general belief of the time was that whatever written material is produced helps in learning; hence, every written material was regarded as literature.

#Literature #literatura #literary

To bifurcate between the quality of written material, John Colet introduced the word “Blotterature” to refer to the writing that fell below the standard of polite learning.

#Literature #literatura #literary

Until the 1770s, any written material which helped in learning was regarded as Literature.

#Literature #literatura #literary

After the 1770s, the idea of national literature developed in Germany, soon followed by, “Successful specialisation of literature to certain kind of writing” (Raymond Williams).

#Literature #literatura #literary #sundayvibes

“Certain Kind” means writing of imaginative and creative kind, that is to say, poems, plays, and novels written with the elegance of language.

#Literature #literatura #literary #sundayvibes

Earlier, the word “poetry” was used to refer to all such works. But after the 17th century, it was reserved for the metrical composition.

#Literature #literatura #literary #sundayvibes