Literature is a product of a particular culture that concretizes man’s array of values, emotions, actions and ideas. It is therefore a creation of human experience that tells about their world. It is an art that reflects the works of imagination, aesthetics, and creative writing which distinguished for the beauty of style or expression as in fiction, poetry, essay, or drama, in distinction from scientific treatises and works which contain positive knowledge.
Why do we have to study literature?
A. to better appreciate our literary heritage
B. to trace the rich heritage of ideas handed down to us by the fore fathers
C. to understand the great and noble tradition of the different races of the world
Literary Standards
1. Universality- appeals to everyone, regardless of culture, race, sex and time which are all considered significant
2. Artistry- has an aesthetic appeal and thus possesses a sense of beauty
3. Intellectual Value- stimulates critical thinking that enriches mental processes of abstract and reasoning, making man realize the fundamental truths of life and its nature
4. Suggestiveness- unravels and conjures man’s emotional power to define symbolism, nuances, implied meanings, images and messages, giving and evoking visions above and beyond the plane of ordinary life and experience
5. Spiritual Value- elevates the spirit and the soul and thus has the power to motivate and inspire, drawn from the suggested morals