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.
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Featured content, December 23, 2024
Is Sinclair Lewis’s Most Famous Work Any Good?
It Can’t Happen Here has never received great reviews as literary art. So why is it Sinclair Lewis’s most famous...
8 Influential Abolitionist Texts
Essays and letters that helped break fetters.
Why Do Languages Die?
How does someone become the last known speaker of a language?
The Bizarre Origins of the Words Nerd and Geek
On the nature of nerdiness…or geekiness.
English literature
English literature, the body of written works produced in the English language by inhabitants of the British Isles (including...
Portuguese literature
Portuguese literature, the body of writing in the Portuguese language produced by the peoples of Portugal, which includes...
children’s literature
Children’s literature, the body of written works and accompanying illustrations produced in order to entertain or instruct...
popular art
Popular art, any dance, literature, music, theatre, or other art form intended to be received and appreciated by ordinary...
Literature Quizzes
Italian Words Commonly Used in English
Which Neapolitan dialect word originally referred to a kind of stream that “washes down” a mountain? What English word comes...
More Italian Words Commonly Used in English
What Italian word literally means “bad air”? Which English word comes from the Italian for “foundry”? Take the quiz. Test...
Shakespeare's Monsters, Demons, and Giants Quiz
Which magical character chides witches for taking it upon themselves “to trade and traffic with Macbeth”? Which companion...
Animals in Shakespeare Quiz
In The Merchant of Venice, Lorenzo says, “In such a night / Did pretty Jessica, like a little [fill in the blank],...
Battlefields and Places of Intrigue in Shakespeare Quiz
“Witness our too much memorable shame,” recalls the French king in Henry V, when a battle at what site “fatally...
Who Said It? Writers and Musicians Quiz
“Works of art are our chief means of breaking bread with the dead.” Do you know who said this?
Who Said It? Essential Writers, Artists, and Scientists
“I shall curse you with book, bell, and candle.” Can you match these quotes to their authors?
Grimm’s Fairy Tales Quiz
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the best fairy tale quiz taker of them all? If you know the Grimms’ unique form of mayhem,...
Fact or Fiction: The Unbelievable Life of Edgar Allan Poe Quiz
Can you figure out which of the following astonishing details about the legendary writer are facts and which are fiction?...
Words with Negative Connotations Quiz
How well do you know the definitions of words with negative connotations? Take this quiz to find out. All definitions and...
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
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Jean de La Fontaine
French poet
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vampire
legendary creature
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fable
literature
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
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Spider-Man
fictional character
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Sherlock Holmes
fictional character
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Batman
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
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Edward R. Murrow
American journalist
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I. F. Stone
American journalist
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Hunter S. Thompson
American journalist
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
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Conrad Gesner
Swiss physician and naturalist
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Newberry Library
library, Chicago, Illinois, United States
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James D. Dana
American geologist and mineralogist
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
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George Bernard Shaw
Irish dramatist and critic
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T.S. Eliot
American-English poet, playwright, and literary critic
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Roland Barthes
French critic
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
- nonfictional prose
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tragedy
literature
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sonnet
poetic form
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
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autobiography
literature
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Silent Spring
work by Carson
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Federalist papers
American political essays
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.
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novel
literature
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short story
literature
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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
novel by Hugo
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
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St. Augustine
Christian bishop and theologian
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St. Ambrose
bishop of Milan
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Isocrates
Greek orator and rhetorician
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.
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Our Town
play by Wilder
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The Seagull
play by Chekhov
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Oedipus Rex
play by Sophocles
Poetry
; sonnets, haikus, nursery rhymes, epics, and more are included.
Articles
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ballade
poetry and song
- light verse
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Beowulf
Old English poem
