1

LITERATURE

Many people ask about what is meant by literature but they do not get satisfactory answers. In some books it is mentioned that comes from the Latin litteratura which is etymologically derived from the word littera (letter / letter), the smallest element of alphabetical writing (Klarer).

Literature is a term used to describe written or oral material. Broadly speaking, "literature" is used to describe something from creative writing to more technical or scientific work, but it is most commonly used to refer to works of creative imagination, including works of poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction.

The literary sense in the Collins English Dictionary is “Literature is written material such as poetry, novels, essays, etc, especially works of imagination characterized by excellence of style and expression and by themes of general or enduring interest.”

               A simple explanation of the meaning of literature is expressed by Bressler (1994: 7) which states "Literature as work of imaginative or creative writing". Robert and Jacob (2006: 2) stated, "Literature is composition that tells a story, dramatizes a situation, expresses emotions, analyzes and advocates ideas."

Ade and Okunuye (2008: 2) in his book Introduction to Literature and Literary Criticism describes some definitions of literature according to Moody (1987), Boulton (1980), and Rees (1973). Moody (1987) states that literature comes from our love of telling a story, composing words very neatly, expressing words from some aspect of the human experience itself. Boulton (1980) states the definition of literature from its perspective function as imaginative work that gives us, Recreation: entertainment, Recognition: recognition, Revelation and Redemption: disclosure and liberation. Rees (1973) states, after explaining what literature is, Rees concludes that literature is a permanent expression of the words that exist in the mind or feelings about life and the world.

            “Moody (1987) writes that literature springs from our in born lovr of telling a story, of arranging words in pleasing patterns, of expressing in words some special aspects of our human experience. Boulton (1980) defines literature from a functional perspective as the imaginative work that gives us R’s: recreation, recognition, revelation and redemption. Rees (1973), after describing what he regarded as literature, summed up that literature is a permanent expression in words of some thoughts or feelings in ideas about life and the world.”

               From the three opinions it is concluded that the literature is an expression of thought and feeling, literature also relates to life experiences, the words used in literature are powerful, effective and even compelling, and also the literature provides entertainment and inspires the hidden facts.

Ade and Okunoye (2008: 3) reiterate, "Literature is thus summarized as a permanent expressions in words (written or spoken), specially arranged in the pleasing accepted paterns or forms. Literatures expresses thoughts, feelings, ideas or other special aspects of human experiences."

Literature in the broad sense is a reading material or basis that can be used as a reference in a scientific paper writing. In general, literature comes from books, or scientific journals, used as a reference source. Whereas in English, literature comes from the word literature which means literature or literary works, whether in the form of novels, drama, or poetry. Literature is not always written, can also form non-book such as recordings, vinyls, laser desks, films, tapes, and others that can provide information. Literature in the strict sense is all the writings that express ideas, emotions, feelings, and behavior in life.

Literature according to the experts that reading materials that can be used in various activities, both intellectually and recreation (literature) can be classified into primary literature, secondary literature, and tertiary literature. Where the level of sharpness analysis of each literature is different. Primary literature is the original paper that contains a theory or an idea in various fields, such as research reports, patents, dissertations, seminar papers and others. While the secondary literature is the literature that summarizes, or indexes the primary literature, so it does not contain new literature. In the tertiary literature it contains instructions for obtaining secondary literature, eg: directory blibography.