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 perceiving literary works plays an important role in our lives. We suggest that you familiarize yourself with the definition of “fiction”, learn about what kinds, types and genres it is divided into, and its language is remarkable. You will learn about all this and much more from the material set forth below.
Definition of fiction
Almost all literary theorists define it as art, comparing it with painting, music, and theater. The bottom line is that in literature, as in any other art, there is an organization of empty content in 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 a word and a 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 we get acquainted with the classics of fiction, in adulthood, when a person consciously turns to a book of interest to him. Books are a 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 representatives of romanticism. They regarded artistic reality as aesthetically unique, and writers as special people.
When and how did literature appear?
They have been trying to find the answer to this question for quite some time. How did it all start? In search of answers, people 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 also Sumerian, and Egyptian, and Babylonian - refined and developed literature. A very important role is played by oral forms of literature, beliefs of ancient peoples, mythology of entire civilizations. It is with myths or similar forms that the study of any literature begins.
Childbirth
There are three kinds: epic, lyrical and dramatic. The basis of this division is how the content of the work is presented to the reader. If the events are described in detail, the author’s position is removed, various characters are present, their appearance is described in detail, and the main type of speech is the narrative, then this is an epic kind of literature. In other words, about prose. It includes stories, novels, essays, novels and other similar works.
If the author wants to tell not only about the events, but about the feelings that they aroused, he creates works related to the 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 the lyrics. In simple words, lyrics
are verses and their variations.
If an object is portrayed in action, it is possible to play it on stage, show it to the viewer and reader, we are talking about a dramatic kind of literature. Here the author’s voice sounds only in remarks - author’s explanations of actions and replicas of the main characters. The dramatic family includes various plays, tragedies, and comedies.
Division into genres
As mentioned above, the kinds of literature, in turn, include various genres - historically established groups of works that are united by certain common features. This, for example, novels, short stories, novels, comedies, poems, poems. There is such a thing as a view. For example, the epic look of the novel will be divided into genres of the 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 simply combine them into the concept of “artistic language”.
Artistic speech is multi-style. There are different styles with their own characteristics and rules, in which different language means are used . Their choice depends on the author and his ideas. Each style has its own “face” - a set of elements that are characteristic only for it. It is interesting that words and phrases that are not included in the “literary language” —argo, slang words, lexical units from various dialects — can be used in an artwork. Some writers violate the norm intentionally. Any artistic means fulfill 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. Words in a work of art 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 available. 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 contents of the book are realized, an image is created and an impact is made on the addressee.
The Importance of Fiction
World fiction affects the formation of personality and the worldview of readers. It is very difficult to exaggerate the effect that an artistic text has on the reader’s mind. Word art has long been a part of our lives. What role does she play? What is fiction? First of all, this is a story. It is passed down from generation to generation, carrying the experience and values of our predecessors. Great writers turned to human consciousness and probably hoped that the appeal is not only their contemporaries, but also people in the future.
The fact that literature is capable of influencing consciousness is supported by many examples. Often an artistic word played the role of an ideological weapon. There are many cases in the history of literature when works were used to propagate and form a certain opinion. Fiction is a powerful tool with which you can convey to a person the norms, rules, principles, vision of the world, attitude to the information received.
Conclusion
Reading fiction is an indispensable component of the personal development of each person. From books, whether novels, poems or plays, readers learn life, take 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, has an effect on consciousness. In addition, the love of books is inculcated from birth, also because reading develops imagination, teaches us to imagine situations and draw images. All books that are considered classical develop and teach, provide knowledge, and Russian fiction is no exception.