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Novels
A novel is a long (invented) story, written in prose.
This form of writing only began in the early 17th century,
and has had a dramatic rise in popularity
because there are novels to suit all tastes.
some offer insights into everyday life, and
some tell of fantastic adventures that keep
you turning the pages. American author
louisa May Alcott wrote Little Women
(1868-69), which tells the story of four
sisters and their lives. This
remains one of the best-loved
children’s books ever
written. Many successful
modern authors are now
rewarded with high incomes
from sales of their books, as
well as from movies based
on their novels.PoeTry
Poetry uses devices, such as
rhythm and rhyme, to focus
attention on the words.
rhythm is the use of sound
patterns, such as repeated
accents or beats, to make
a line flow. one of the
world’s greatest poets
was the American Walt
Whitman (1810-92),
whose poems express a
great love of his country
and its people. His
collection of poems
Leaves of Grass (1855)
is considered one of
his best works.ePics ANd sAgAs
epics and sagas tell of legendary heroes
and their deeds. An epic tells the story
as a long poem, while a saga is written
in prose. The national Persian epic, the
Book of Kings (Shah-nameh) by Firdausi
(c.935-1020), is 1,000 years old, and
tells the story of Persian kings and their
battles against monsters in mythical
times. other great epics include
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey; virgil’s Aeneid;
Beowulf, a 10th-century epic written in
old english; and John Milton’s Paradise
Lost and Paradise Regained.BiogrAPHy
A biography is a book that describes a
person’s life. in an autobiography the
author writes of his or her own life. Us
writer Mark Twain (right) was portrayed
in J. Kaplan’s biography Mr. Clemens and
Mark Twain (the title refers to Twain’s
real name, samuel langhorne clemens).drAMA
literature that is written to be performed by actors is called drama.
different countries have their own forms of drama. There is little
scenery in Japanese Noh drama (below), which was first performed
in the 14th century. The all-male actors use dance, mime, and
masks for each performance, which can last for several hours.
Noh drama is influenced by the religious beliefs of
Buddhism and shintoism.Noh actors perform a program of
five plays, based on classical
literature, romances, or
poetry, accompanied
by a chorus with
an orchestra of
drums and flute.sTories
Most stories describe a single incident or events that
take place over a short period of time. There are
children’s stories about every subject ranging
from adventures to ghosts. one of the best-
known story writers was the danish author
Hans christian Andersen (1805-75),
who wrote tales such as The Emperor’s
New Clothes and The Ugly Duckling.A Hans Christian Andersen story,
The Princess and the Pea, tells
how a single pea beneath a heap
of mattresses keeps a princess
awake all night.Louisa May AlcottThis copy of the Book of Kings
is written in Arabic script.US_321_Literature_2.indd 321 22/01/16 11:10 am