literaturii

Literaturii is the Romanian term used to refer to literature, the body of written works regarded as having artistic, cultural, or intellectual value. In this sense, literature encompasses national canons as well as world literature, including poetry, fiction, drama, essays, and literary criticism. It also covers the study of texts and their contexts, meanings, and reception across time and cultures.

Literature has origins in both oral and written traditions. Across civilizations, myths and stories circulated orally before being fixed in writing; later, printed texts enabled wider circulation and standardization. Major historical phases include ancient literatures of Greece, Rome, and Asia; medieval religious and courtly writings; the Renaissance and Enlightenment; and the modern period, which saw the rise of the novel, realism, modernism, and postmodernism. In the contemporary era, globalization, translation, and digital media have broadened access to thousands of languages and voices.

Common genres and forms include poetry, prose fiction (novel and short story), drama, essays, memoirs, and criticism. Many works blur boundaries among genres, and new forms emerge with technology and cross-cultural exchange.

Literary study uses theory and method to interpret texts, examine authorship, readership, historical context, and textual networks. Critical approaches range from close-reading and formal analysis to theories of gender, race, ideology, and power, as well as translation studies and reception history.

Within Romanian culture and beyond, literaturii functions as a repository of memory, identity, and imagination. It records social change, negotiates values, and enables empathy by presenting diverse perspectives to readers.