About Literary Studies

Terjemahan dari artikel berjudul mengenai kajian sastra

By

Audi Alya

Monday, April 25, 2022

Literature is a topic of conversation that has certainly been discussed from time to time and from generation to generation. Literature is also often said to be something fictional and full of imagination. And many also say from several groups that literature is only about poetry and pantun.

Not to mention the lovers and connoisseurs of literature who have their own definitions of literature. So we are faced with the question, what is the definition of literature? The question is very simple, but not many people can answer it, because they are unable to describe it. But isn't literature too aesthetic to be answered perfunctorily and with minimal interpretation? This shows that literature is multi-interpretable or feels like it is always in the justification phase.

I wrote a discussion like this because I wanted to know the many definitions of literature that have been defined by the figures. And the purpose of this discussion is so that not only I can know the many definitions of a literary word. The benefits that we can take from this discussion are the many definitions of literature that we have obtained so that we will not be confused in answering the question of what the definition of literature actually is.

Etymologically, literature comes from the word "su" (good) and "sastra" (from Sanskrit, which means writing). So etymologically, literature is a good writing or composition or a beautiful composition. And the understanding itself can be the complete essence of literature. The aspect of beauty in literary works is not perfect if it is not associated with truth. And truth itself must be associated with true and beautiful values.

Literary works must be able to promise readers or lovers of literature sensitivity to the values of life. Literature is an art of language. Literature is a spontaneous expression of feelings experienced by someone. Literature is thought in language, the thought in question is about ideas, feelings, thoughts, and a person's mentality.

The figures who define literature are Wallek and Warren 1993 (in Suyatmi, 2006) who describe several definitions, including the first, literature is everything that is written and printed, for example in social sciences what is written is literature. Second, literature is limited only to "masterpieces", namely only books that stand out in literary form and expression.

Third, literature is seen as an imaginative work. In French, the term "belles-lettres" is also known as a term for literature that is aesthetic. Another word that is also taken from Sanskrit is the word pustaka which broadly means book (Teeuw, 1984:22-23). 

After the explanation above, it can be concluded that until now there has been no single definition. This is because there are several reasons, including:

a. Literature is not a science, but an art.

b. A limitation always tries to express the essence of a suggestion.

c. A literary limitation is quite difficult to reach the essence of all types of literature.

d. The limitations of literature usually do not stop at the creator of the gift, but also an attempt at assessment.

The classical opinion on the function of literature described by Horatius, a Greek philosopher, is that literature has the function of "dulce et utile" (entertaining and useful). The function of literature according to Edgar Allan Poe (in Al-Ma'ruf, 2007:32) is "didactic heresy" (entertaining and teaching something). And regarding some of these functions, literature has a benefit, namely:

a. Literature as a science, meaning literature as a conventional discipline.

b. Literature has the motto dulce et utile, meaning that besides providing pleasure to its readers, literature also provides usefulness and benefits for human life.

c. Literature as a culture, meaning that it covers all human life both physically (as a unifier of the nation, a means of association, a means of communication) and spiritually (suggestions for activities in fostering the mental attitude of oneself and other communities).

The task of literature as an art is to offer a unique experience of various models of life. Literature is not only a historical document, but also an extension of the explanation of life itself, therefore its main purpose is to add to the inner experience.

The term study is often equated with the term analysis or closer to review, which means to do in-depth or study seriously. And review is also often equated with the term study which means to do a study or analysis. Literary works that are the result of the author's or writer's creation after reflecting on the social environment of his life.