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.
Browse Subcategories
Featured content, January 08, 2025
What were Sir Walter Scott’s influences?
What were Sir Walter Scott’s influences?
5 Good Books That Inspired Bad Deeds
Words gone wild.
8 Influential Abolitionist Texts
Essays and letters that helped break fetters.
Where Does the Concept of a “Grim Reaper” Come From?
Harvester of souls since when?
Yiddish literature
Yiddish literature, the body of written works produced in the Yiddish language of Ashkenazic Jewry (central and eastern European...
Icelandic literature
Icelandic literature, body of writings in Icelandic, including those from Old Icelandic (also called Old Norse) through Modern...
rhetoric
Rhetoric, the principles of training communicators—those seeking to persuade or inform. In the 20th century it underwent...
French literature
French literature, the body of written works in the French language produced within the geographic and political boundaries...
Literature Quizzes
Poetry: First Lines
Who wrote these famous words? Test your knowledge of the opening lines of famous poems and the poets who penned them.
Writers of the Harlem Renaissance
How much do you know about the writers of the Harlem Renaissance? Test your knowledge with this quiz.
Romeo and Juliet
Wherefore art thou Romeo? Think you know all about this famous love story? Test your knowledge with this quiz.
Classic Children’s Books Quiz
Hope you are very hungry for kids’ literature trivia.
Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes is much more than Spain's most famous novelist. Test what you know about him with this quiz.
Emily Dickinson
How much do you know about Emily Dickinson? Test your knowledge with this quiz.
Magazines: Fact or Fiction?
Test your knowledge of magazines with this fact-or-fiction quiz about the magazine industry’s history.
Nobel Laureates in Literature
Are you a Nobel know-it-all? Match the Nobel laureates in literature to the year they earned the award!
The Brontë Sisters
Think you know Charlotte, Anne, and Emily Brontë, the trio behind some of the greatest Victorian novels? Take this Brontë...
Russian Literature
Do you think you know about Russian literature? Test your knowledge with this quiz.
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.
Articles
-
Tristan and Isolde
legendary figures
- oral literature
- folk literature
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.
Articles
-
Robin
fictional character
-
Hercule Poirot
fictional character
-
Iron Man
Marvel superhero
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.
Articles
-
Amy Goodman
American journalist, columnist, and author
-
Barbara Walters
American journalist
-
Walter Cronkite
American journalist
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.
Articles
-
James D. Dana
American geologist and mineralogist
-
Claude Bernard
French scientist
-
Noah Webster
American lexicographer
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.
Articles
-
Edward Said
American professor and literary critic
-
Harold Bloom
American literary critic and author
-
Charles Baudelaire
French author
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.
Articles
-
novel
literature
- nonfictional prose
-
tragedy
literature
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.
Articles
-
essay
literature
-
diary
literature
-
Unsafe at Any Speed
work by Nader
Novels & Short Stories
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.
Articles
-
The War of the Worlds
novel by Wells
-
The Fall of the House of Usher
story by Poe
-
The Catcher in the Rye
novel by Salinger
Oratory
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.
Articles
-
Quintilian
Roman rhetorician
-
John Donne
English poet
-
Tacitus
Roman historian
Plays
; 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.
Articles
-
A Raisin in the Sun
play by Hansberry
-
Our Town
play by Wilder
-
The Seagull
play by Chekhov
Poetry
; sonnets, haikus, nursery rhymes, epics, and more are included.
Articles
-
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
poetry by Blake
-
Leaves of Grass
work by Whitman
-
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
work by Coleridge
