What is Literature?

Literature, painting, sculpture and music are all forms of art and produce emotions and positive or negative reactions.
Literature is made up of words, painting is made up of colors, sculture is made up of marble and music of musical notes. Different forms of art use different ingredients and tools. So the difference between those forms of art is the way of expressing them.

The meaning of poetry is condensed is a few words charged with meaning, that's why it's difficult for people to understand them. When poets write they must follow a disciplined technique, so the language is charged with a lot of meaning and that is why poetry arouses and stirs several emotions.

Literature sends a lot of meaning and most of them can be correct because every reader provides a personal interpretation (the interpretation is not free). We must advance an interpretation which is supported by reference to the text.

A literary text does not have a simple meaning. It is constructed by a layer of meanings. There's a surface meaning which can be understood by every common reader but the others require a certain knowledge and culture of literature.
Literary genres are poetry, fiction, drama, etc.: the sonnet, the ballad, the novel, the haiku are literary forms.