Category:Literature

What we find in books is like the fire in our hearths. We fetch it from our neighbours, we kindle it at home, we communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all. —Voltaire

Many tropes originated in literary works. Literature being nearly as old as writing itself, most of The Oldest Ones in the Book date to the classics, most Public Domain Characters appeared in print well before the first TV broadcasts, and even today, with the supposedly dwindling popularity of books and magazines in favor of more modern media, there are books with enough cultural impact to spawn new Tropes.

Merriam-Webster defines "literature" thusly:

a (1) : writings in prose or verse; especially : writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest (2) : an example of such writings <what came out, though rarely literature, was always a roaring good story — People> b : the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age c : the body of writings on a particular subject <scientific literature> d : printed matter (as leaflets or circulars) <campaign literature>

We're using definitions "b", "c", and "d", not the second half of definition "a". For works where the author was intending to have the second half of definition "a" apply, see Category:Lit Fic.

Also see the Web Serial Novel page for periodicals that started online.

Contrast with Category:Bookish Tropes, which is about pages bound into covers.