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, March 13, 2025
8 Influential Abolitionist Texts
Essays and letters that helped break fetters.
Diagnosing 9 of Charles Dickens’s Most Famous Characters
Dickens had a knack for expertly portraying human diseases.
Where Does the Concept of a “Grim Reaper” Come From?
Harvester of souls since when?
What did Sir Walter Scott write?
What did Sir Walter Scott write?
novel
Novel, an invented prose narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals imaginatively with human experience,...
Arabic literature
Arabic literature, the body of written works produced in the Arabic language. The tradition of Arabic literature stretches...
Central Asian arts
Central Asian arts, literary, performing, and visual arts of a large portion of Asia embracing the Turkic republics (Uzbekistan,...
Australian literature
Australian literature, the body of literatures, both oral and written, produced in Australia. Perhaps more so than in other...
Literature Quizzes
A Book Review: Fact or Fiction?
In The War of the Worlds, were the enemies of Earth from Venus? Unlock your imagination and discover the literary...
Literary Character Study: Fact or Fiction?
Is Jane Eyre a fictional explorer and adventuress? Was Sherlock Holmes a real detective? Sort fact from talking pigs, Christmas...
Test Your Literacy Rate: Fact or Fiction?
Were most people literate in ancient times? Was reading once considered a form of physical exercise? Exercise your mental...
Author Showcase: Fact or Fiction?
Is Frankenstein a novel by Percy Bysshe Shelley? From Jane Austen and Jack London to Mark Twain and Maurice Sendak,...
Literary Fun Facts: Fact or Fiction?
Does Starbucks Coffee take its name from the novel Moby-Dick? Is the film Apocalypse Now based on a classic...
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
You may know what the raven "quoth," but in what story does the narrator confess a murder? What woman is buried not quite...
ABCs of English
What letter begins more English words than any other? What letter does not appear in the English numbers 1 through 100? Learn...
Official Languages
What is the official language of Grenada? What language do most Argentineans speak? Translate your smarts into a high score...
Languages of the World
What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet? From which language does the motto of the United States come? Dot your I’s...
From What Language...
From "Ubuntu" and "vindaloo" to "syrup" and "pajamas", test your knowledge of word origins and world languages in 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
-
The Little Prince
fable by Saint-Exupéry
-
Zora Neale Hurston
American author
-
ballad
narrative song
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
-
Thor
fictional character
-
Green Lantern
comic-book character
-
Superman
fictional character
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
-
Hunter S. Thompson
American journalist
-
Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
Swedish journalists and authors
-
Dorothy Thompson
American journalist and writer
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
-
al-Bīrūnī
Persian scholar and scientist
-
Library of Alexandria
ancient library, Alexandria, Egypt
-
Folger Shakespeare Library
research center, Washington, District of Columbia,...
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
-
haiku
Japanese literature
-
picaresque novel
literature
- metaphor
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
-
epitaph
poetic form
-
slave narrative
American literature
-
The Abolition of Man
work by Lewis
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 Hunchback of Notre Dame
novel by Hugo
-
A Farewell to Arms
novel by Hemingway
-
Emma
novel by Austen
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
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
-
Waiting for Godot
play by Beckett
-
Macbeth
work by Shakespeare
-
A Doll’s House
play by Ibsen
Poetry
; sonnets, haikus, nursery rhymes, epics, and more are included.
Articles
- heroic poetry
-
epic
literary genre
-
poetry
literature
