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MEANING OF LITERATURE
It is a body of written or oral works. It also relates to writings in art form (prose, drama and poetry). Examples of works of art are drama/play, poetry, biography, memoirs, fiction, essays, etc.
TYPES OF LITERATURE
There are two basic groupings of literature; namely oral literature and written literature.
Oral Literature Literature
It is a type of literature that is handed down from generation to generation by the word of mouth.
Examples are folktale, folklore, myths, fable, legend, lullaby, jokes, etc.
1. Folklores
They are traditional laws, beliefs and practices of a group of people.
2. Folktales
They are traditional stories of a particular community or group of people handed down by word of mouth from generation to generation.
3. Myth
It refers to fairy tales with lots of adventure, and magic which lack scientific proof. Nursery rhymes, songs and lullabies are some forms of myths.
4. Legend
A popular ancient story about great people and their great deeds. A person living or dead may be referred to as a legend due to his/her unique achievements. Examples are stories of Okomfo Anokye, Nelson Mandela and Azumah Nelson.
Weaknesses of Oral Literature
1.People tend to exaggerate (overstate) exactly what happened.
2. People tend to forget part of the story/event because it is not documented (written/recorded).
3. Unpleasant aspects of stories/occurrences are often hidden or dropped and they are seen (viewed) as taboos.
Written Literature
It is the recorded/documented form of literature. Examples are memoirs, biography, prose, etc.
Importance of Literature
1.To educate or teach people moral, religious and other lessons. Examples are proverbs, didactism, etc.
2. To correct people when they go wrong. An example is satire.
3. To entertain people after a hard day’s work. An example is Ananse stories.
4. People can enrich their vocabulary thanks to literature.
5. Literature helps us to form our own vision of beauty.
6. Literature helps to turn banal things into something artistic, poetic and beautiful.
Thanks to literature, we can study, be inspired, cry, laugh, enjoy and just have a good time.