"What is Literature?": A Literary Guide for English Students and Teachers

What is literature? How does it differ from other forms of writing? What makes a literary text canonical? MFA student Paige Thomas answers these questions using the work of literary critics such as Derek Attridge and Roland Barthes and a few common literary texts.

The short video is designed to help high school and college English students to not only identify what makes literature canonical but also to analyze its general characteristics. A collaborative partnership between Paige Thomas and OSU Professor Evan Gottlieb, the video is sponsored by the School of Writing, Literature, and Film at Oregon State University. For more discussions of literary topics and essay writing tips, please subscribe to the free SWLF YouTube Channel or visit https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/w...

Spanish subtitles are now available for this video. To access these subtitles, click on the settings icon in the video. A transcript of the video in both languages is available here: https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/w...

Timestamps
0:00 Literature Basic Definition
1:18 Literature and the Canon
2:48 Alternative Literature Definitions
6:46 Final Literature Definition

Below are a few more videos in the series. Please drop us a comment letting us know what literary terms you would like us to explore in future videos!
"What is a prologue?":    • "What is a Prologue?": An Introductio...  ​​​​​
"What is a stanza?":    • "What is a Stanza?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​​​
"What is stream of consciousness?":    • "What is Stream of Consciousness?": A...  ​​​​​
"What is figurative language?":    • "What is Figurative Language?": A Lit...  ​​​​​
"What is irony?':    • "What is Irony?": A Literary Guide fo...  ​​​​​
"What is a metaphor?":    • "What is a Metaphor?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​​​
"What is a simile?":    • "What is a Simile?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​​​
"What is hyperbole?":    • "What is Hyperbole?": A Literary Guid...  ​​​​​
"What is a imagery?":    • "What is Imagery?": A Literary Guide ...  ​​​​​
"What is a sonnet?":    • "What is a Sonnet?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​​​
"What is metonymy?":    • "What is Metonymy?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​​​
"What is synecdoche?":    • "What is a Synecdoche?": A Literary G...  ​​​​​
"What is enjambment?":    • "What is Enjambment?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​​​
"What is satire?":    • "What is Satire?": A Literary Guide f...  ​​​​​
"What is juxtaposition?":    • "What is Juxtaposition?": A Literary ...  ​​​​​
"What is foreshadowing?":    • "What is Foreshadowing?": A Literary ...  ​​​​​
"What is understatement?":    • "What is Understatement?": A Literary...  ​​​​​
"What is rhyme?":    • "What is Rhyme in Poetry?": A Literar...  ​​​​​
"What is an unreliable narrator?":    • "What is an Unreliable Narrator?": A ...  ​​​​​
"What is a genre?":    • "What is a Genre?": A Literary Guide ...  ​​​​​
"What is a narrative arc?":    • "What is a Narrative Arc?": A Literar...  ​​​​​
"What is a flashback?":    • "What is a Flashback?": A Literary Gu...  ​​​​​
"What is personification?":    • "What is Personification?": A Literar...  ​​​​​
"What is a narrator?":    • "What is a Narrator?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​​​
"What is a flat character vs a round character?":    • "What is a Flat Character vs a Round ...  ​​​​​
"What is symbolism?":    • "What is Symbolism?": A Literary Guid...  ​​​​​
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part I)":    • "What is a Graphic Novel? (Part I)": ...  ​​​​​
"What is a graphic narrative? (Part II)":    • "What is a Graphic Novel? (Part II)":...  ​​​​​
"What is epistrophe?":    • "What is Epistrophe?": A Literary Gui...  ​​​​​
"What is poetic meter?":    • "What is Meter in Poetry?": A Literar...  ​​​​​
"What is a portmanteau?":    • "What is a Portmanteau?": A Literary ...  ​​​​​
"What is anaphora?":    • "What is Anaphora?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​​​
"What is an oxymoron?":    • "What is an Oxymoron?": A Literary Gu...  ​​​​​
"What is a zeugma?":    • "What is a Zeugma?": A Literary Guide...  ​​​​​
"What is free indirect discourse?":    • "What is Free Indirect Discourse?": A...  ​​​​​
"What is a vehicle and a tenor?":    • "What are Vehicles and Tenors?": A Li...  ​​​​​
"What is the uncanny?":    • "What is the Uncanny?": A Literary Gu...  ​​​​​
"What is a point of view?":    • "What is Point of View?": A Literary ...  ​​​​​
"What is deus ex machina?":    • "What is Deus Ex Machina?": A Literar...  ​​​​​
"What is a frame story?":    • "What is a Frame Story?": A Literary ...  ​​​​​
"What is ekphrasis?":    • "What is Ekphrasis?": A Literary Guid...  ​​​​​
"What is blank verse?":    • "What is Blank Verse?": A Literary Gu...  ​​​​​
"What is an epistolary novel?":    • "What is an Epistolary Novel?": A Lit...  ​​​​​
"What is allegory?":    • "What is an Allegory?": A Literary Gu...  ​​​​​
"What is tragedy?":    • "What is a Tragedy?": A Literary Guid...  ​​​​​
"What are euphony and cacophony?":    • "What are Euphony and Cacophony?": A ...  ​​​​​
"What are assonance and consonance?":    • "What are Assonance and Consonance?":...  ​​
"What is a setting in literature?":    • "What is a Setting?": A Literary Guid...  ​​
"What is onomatopoeia?":    • "What is Onomatopoeia?": A Literary G...  ​​
"What is theme in literature?": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KZc...
"What is a conflict in literature?":    • "What is Conflict in Literature?": A ...  ​
"What is persona?":    • "What is a Persona?": A Literary Guid...  
"What is a dramatic monologue?":    • "What is a Dramatic Monologue?": A Li...  
"What is an allusion?":    • "What is an Allusion?": A Literary Gu...