What is fiction? What are its features, why is literature considered an art? A huge number of books in the home library of most people suggests that reading and understanding literary works plays an important role in our lives. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the definition of the concept of "fiction", learn about what genera, types and genres it is divided into, what is remarkable about its language. You will learn about all this and much more from the material below.
Fiction definition
Almost all literary theorists define it as an art, comparing it with painting, music, theater. The bottom line is that in literature, as in any other art,there is an organization of meaningless material into a new form with a specific ideological content. The types of art differ only in material: in music - sounds, in painting - paints, in architecture - building materials. In this vein, literature is special in that its material is only the word and language.
Thus, literature is all written texts, which in turn are divided into groups. This is popular science, reference, educational, scientific, technical and, finally, fiction. We encounter the latter from the first years of life, at school when getting acquainted with the classics of fiction, in adulthood, when a person consciously turns to a book of interest to him. Books are the mirror of society. In a broader interpretation, fiction is those written works that are of artistic value and have aesthetic value.
Interestingly, this view was finally formed in the 19th century thanks to the representatives of romanticism. They viewed artistic reality as aesthetically unique, and writers as special people.
When and how did literature appear?
The answer to this question has been trying to find for quite some time. How did it all start? In search of answers, people have conducted a huge amount of research, refuted and proved a myriad of hypotheses, analyzed the material and the people who created it. As it turned out, classical - Roman and Greek - fiction is not the most ancient. There were alsoSumerian, and Egyptian, and Babylonian are refined and developed literatures. Oral forms of literature, beliefs of ancient peoples, mythology of entire civilizations play a very important role. It is with myths or similar forms that the study of any literature begins.
Births of fiction
There are three kinds: epic, lyrical and dramatic. This division is based on how the content of the work is presented to the reader. If the events are described in detail, the position of the author is removed, various characters are present, their appearance is described in detail, and the leading type of speech is narrative, then we are talking about an epic kind of literature. In other words, prose. It includes stories, novels, essays, novellas and other similar works.
If the author wants to tell not so much about the events, but about the feelings that they caused, he creates works related to lyrics. Within this kind of literature, there are many genres of different sizes and forms, most of which are characterized by the presence of rhyme, rhythm and other elements characteristic of lyrics. In simple words, lyrics are poems and their variations.
If the subject is depicted in action, it is possible to play it on stage, show the viewer and reader, we are talking about a dramatic kind of literature. Here the voice of the author sounds only in remarks - the author's explanations of the actions and replicas of the main characters. The dramatic genre includes various plays, tragedies, comedies.
Division into genres
As mentioned above, the genres of literature, in turn, include various genres - historically established groups of works that are united by certain common features. These are, for example, novels, short stories, novellas, comedies, poems, poems. There is also such a thing as a view. For example, the epic type of novel will be divided into genres of utopian novel, parable novel, historical novel, and so on. The number of genres of literature is very large. Interestingly, the combination of different genres is popular, and the bolder the combination, the more original the writer's "creation" will be.
Language as the main feature of works of art
To better understand what fiction is and what its features are, one should consider the specifics of its language. To date, in literary criticism there is no clear distinction between the concepts of "artistic speech" and "artistic style". It's easier to just combine them into the concept of "artistic language".
Artistic speech is multi-styled. There are different styles with their own characteristics and rules, which use different language tools. Their choice depends on the author and his ideas. Each style has its own "face" - a set of elements that are unique to it. It is interesting that words and phrases that are not included in the "literary language" can be used in a work of art - slang, slang words, lexical units from various dialects. Some writers break the norm intentionally. Any artistic mediaperform an aesthetic function. Words-concepts are translated by writers into words-images. Features of fiction also include vivid emotionality and expression. It should be noted that another important function of literature, in addition to aesthetic, is communicative. The words in a work of fiction not only provide information, but also affect readers emotionally.
What is the role of the author's main tool?
What is fiction? Let's try to answer this question in an accessible way. Fiction is a collection of the best images, ideas, thoughts, words. By the way, words are the main tool of the author. With their help, the author's idea, the content of the book is realized, an image is created and the impact on the addressee is carried out.
The Meaning of Fiction
World fiction influences the formation of the personality and worldview of readers. It is very difficult to exaggerate the effect that a literary text has on the mind of the reader. Verbal art has long been a part of our lives. What role does she play? What is fiction? First of all, it's a story. It is passed down from generation to generation, carrying the experience and values of our predecessors. Great writers appealed to the human mind and probably expected that this appeal applies not only to their contemporaries, but also to people in the future.
The fact that literature can influenceon consciousness, supported by many examples. Often the artistic word played the role of an ideological weapon. In the history of literature there are many cases when works were used for propaganda and the formation of a certain opinion. Fiction is a powerful tool that can be used to convey norms, rules, principles, vision of the world, attitude to the information received.
Conclusion
Reading fiction is an essential component of the personal development of every person. From books, be it novels, poems or plays, readers learn about life, learn lessons, draw inspiration. Fiction is a storehouse of historical facts, the experience of previous generations, the thoughts of the main philosophers of the past and present. No wonder literature is considered an art that, with the help of simple words, influences the mind. In addition, love for books is instilled from birth also because reading develops imagination, teaches you to imagine situations and draw images. All books that are recognized as classics develop and teach, give knowledge, and Russian fiction is no exception.
