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Time and again, history has proven creativity is a feat required to achieve greater things in life. We all wish to provide a purpose to our lives and we strive for it. It is the purpose that gives meaning to our efforts. But a life full of tasks and accomplishments and no creativity is a dreary one. The edge, the desire that is required to continue doing the task fades away sometimes, what is it that keeps us on track then? It is the creativity, the newer, improvised thinking ability to add shortcuts, colors, and entertainment to the task at hand. When we think creatively, we add another dimension to speculate a particular possibility. Creativity is a channel to connect magic to reality. We sometimes are in desperate need to find escapades, creativity allows us to do that. Literature is one such ocean to look up to to witness the magic of ideation. There are many things other than literature to unblock the creative channel of perspectives like music, arts, dance, nature, the most fantastic mode to connect to a higher dimension, and many more. It is the world of possibilities that keeps the inquisitive child alive.
What is Literature?
A written collection of any work is literature, be it science, humanities, mathematics, or anything, which is something the internet will tell you, but truly it is an undefined dimension of thoughts, poetry, magic, fiction, non-fiction, and many more unexplored domains. Something that allows you to think beyond, without any barriers of language and expression. A means to redefine your thoughts from the traditional one to a broader way of storytelling. It is a method of conserving, documenting, and disseminating knowledge of the past to future generations. What the notable literati had for us is now available only in documents and books that can be translated and studied to understand their works and the times they lived in. There are many types of literature:
- Poetry: We all have read and heard poetry. It is a form of linguistic expression that is adorned with various writing methods like alliteration, assonance, rhyme, and rhythm that add to its essence and make it more convenient and amusing to be heard. Some classic examples of poetry are If, by Rudyard Kipling which is a meditation on living, the wisdom that a father passes to his son, an inspirational piece of literature still nourishing the thoughtful minds of people, Sailing to Byzantium by W. B. Keats which is an impression on adolescence, what it is like to grow old, does everything fades away as we grow old, the poet tries to fantasize on the thought that youth and beauty will ultimately cease to exist one day, it is about how one sees the world and not the phantom of youth. There are plenty of classic poems you can read too and widen your thoughts.
- Pros: It is a less illustrious, non-metric poem. It is not exactly a poem and neither a novel. It has a grammatical structure but it is one degree greater than the normally written works in the form of novels. For example, Be Drunk by Charles Baudelaire.
- Novel: The basic books with a story, narrated in a prose style. There are various genres in which they are written like fiction, romance, comedy, thriller, etc. For example, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini.
- Novella: It’s too short to be called a novel and too long to be called a short story, written between 17,000 to 40,000 words. For example, Animal Farm by George Orwell.
- Graphic Novels: Comic books along with graphic novels are books containing pictorial literature. An amalgamation of texts, drawings, and dialogues. Most read and preferred form of literature by kids. For example, Marvel graphic novels, DC graphic novels, etc.
- Nonfiction: Another widespread form of literary work preferred by adults. It has a more practical approach to life. It includes genres like self-help, biography, travel literature, philosophy, etc. For example The Power of your Subconscious Mind by Joseph Murphy.
- Drama: A performing hand of literature. The written work is in the form of dialogues and scenes which are enacted by theatre artists. For example, Macbeth by William Shakespeare.
What is Creativity?
Creativity is when you find new patterns or methods of doing something. It allows you to think alternatively thus helping you to develop better critical thinking skills. It replaces old thinking habits and introduces you to modern or newer styles of contemplation. How vividly you can think, how striking and refreshing your ideas and thoughts are, is the magic of creativity. It enhances your personality as well. It can be developed by practice, the more time you give to a certain activity you want to become creative at, the better you become.
How does literature help in enhancing creativity?
Literature in itself is a channel leading to a realm that will allow you to embrace the other side of practicality, that is creativity. It introduces you to an ocean of multiple realms, allowing you to have a broader perspective.
- The literature will help you to imitate the writing and thinking styles of others and develop your own.
- It helps you to become a storyteller. You come up with new characters and your style of describing them develops as you are exposed to different forms of literature.
- Literature helps to develop new ideas. As you read more, you start to think beyond the defining parameters of thinking, thus opening up to a creative realm to exist in.
- It reminds you that reading and writing is an art you were introduced to as a toddler which faded away with time as you grew up, why not pursue it again? Why not dive into the galaxy of imagination?
Literature is the love of creativity. You can never separate the two. One is the means to reach the other. Without them, the world is a dust cloud of oblivion. With them, it is the sunset of the rising moon.
Also read: Tips to improve working memory in online classes
FAQs
1. Why do we need creativity in life? What is wrong with the well-defined practical principles?
Ans: The well-defined practical principles were also written by a person who thought creatively. Creativity is not just going different, it is thinking broad and wide to apply it in practical lives to make tasks easier.
2. Is literature the only way to enhance creativity?
Ans: No. You can choose other means too. You can choose music, arts, or anything. It only depends on what fascinates and teleports you to the other world, to open creative faculties of the mind.
3. Literature is wide and broad, which one to read in particular to think differently?
Ans: Try to read all forms of literature to get an experience, then choose whichever form you liked while reading, to broaden your perspectives.
