Literature has existed since the rise of the earliest civilizations on earth. Its earliest forms where expressed orally, or carved on stone or clay tablets—sometimes in walls as well. Later on, the development of papyrus and ink improved the preservation of many literary works. Literature has been used by scholars, artists, and other educated individuals. For these people, it was a way to express their ideas about the world to other people, and preserve it in these different forms.
It has been one of the important fruits of cultural development. Literature is a broad word that defines any written or oral works. It ranges from the creative fields to the more technical fields of science and mathematics. However, it inclines more on the former than the latter. When a person is asked the question “What is literature,” the immediate reply that the person will say would always pertain to the creative field.
Well, it is true that most people would understand literature in that sense since countless literary forms have been created throughout human history—even “history” can be added into that mix as it retold stories from the past like how epics would, although much more realistic. Literature (I believe) has three purposes: (1) Entertainment, (2) Education, and (3) Expression. These three Es have been important for people and the society upon which they belong to.
There is always a need to entertain (to alleviate boredom), education (to learn how to read and write), and Expression (to change elements of human life and society). Literature has been a great addition to human civilization. It is the writer’s expression of the life and society he or she lives in. It has also been greatly used as a form of entertainment in the past and at the same time, a material used for educating illiterate people.
Works Cited Lombardi, Esther. “Literature. ” About. com. 2000. The New York Times Company. 16 April 2009. <http://classiclit. about. com/od/literaryterms/g/aa_whatisliter. htm>