Literature is the art of written works. Literally translated, the word means "acquaintance with letters" (from Latin littera letter), and therefore the academic study of literature is known as Letters (as in the phrase "Arts and Letters"). In Western culture the most basic written literary types include fiction and nonfiction.

The word "literature" has different meanings depending on who is using it. It could be applied broadly to mean any symbolic record, encompassing everything from images and sculptures to letters. In a more narrow sense the term could mean only text composed of letters, or other examples of symbolic written language (Egyptian hieroglyphs, for example).

An even more narrow interpretation is that text have a physical form, such as on paper or some other portable form, to the exclusion of inscriptions or digital media. The Muslim scholar and philosopher Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq (702-765 AD) defined "literature" as follows: "Literature is the garment which one puts on what he says or writes so that it may appear more attractive." added that literature is a slice of life that has been given direction and meaning, an artistic interpretation of the world according to the percipient's point of views. Frequently, the texts that make up literature crossed over these boundaries.

Russian Formalist Roman Jakobson defines literature as "organized violence committed on ordinary speech", highlighting literature's deviation from the day-to-day and conversational structure of words. Illustrated stories, hypertexts, cave paintings and inscribed monuments have all at one time or another pushed the boundaries of "literature." People may perceive a difference between "literature" and some popular forms of written work. The terms "literary fiction" and "literary merit" often serve to distinguish between individual works.

For example, almost all literate people perceive the works of Charles Dickens as "literature," whereas some critics[citation needed] look down on the works of Jeffrey Archer as unworthy of inclusion under the general heading of "English literature." Critics may exclude works from the classification "literature," for example, on the grounds of a poor standard of grammar and syntax, of an unbelievable or disjointed story-line, or of inconsistent or unconvincing characters. Genre fiction (for example: romance, crime, or science fiction) may also become excluded from consideration as "literature."

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