When is literature capitalized

This is optional, however, even within some religious circles. Titles If a title precedes a name it is usually capitalized: Doctor Hagen gave me a clean bill of health. Turkish President Erdogan accused European leaders of fascism. The Turkish President accused European leaders of fascism. In addition, even these special titles are not usually capitalized in the plural: Recent popes have taken a more liberal attitude.

Relationship Words Words that describe relationships should be capitalized only if they come right before the name or take the place of the name: Aunt Hilda sang horribly out of tune.

We all hoped Mother would enjoy her birthday. In all other cases relationship words do not need capitals: Her father was late as usual. Seasons The seasons of the year winter, spring, summer, fall are not capitalized. Subjects of Study While the title of a specific course is capitalized e. The exception is language courses, since languages are always capitalized: I love my French course. Directions The directions of the compass are not capitalized: If you head south, you will come to the main highway.

However, if a direction is used as a place name you can capitalize it: They are moving to the Pacific Northwest. The East is a much weaker conference. Some Brand Names Whereas most brand names are capitalized like Proper Nouns , some brands have become common words in the language: Could you pass me a kleenex? He drives the zamboni. Back to Lesson. Accessing this subject requires a login. Hence, they are not works of Literature. Literature spelled with a lowercase "l" can present knowledge that is either concrete or abstract; it can present knowledge that is either abstruse or simple.

It can treat fictional subjects and objects as well as nonfictional subjects and objects. As a consequence, literature with a lowercase "l" can include writing that is both fictional and nonfictional. Literature with a lowercase "l" can be writing that is creative or uncreative, depending upon its purpose and upon the quality of the author's contribution. The word literature is derived from the Latin words litteratus , meaning learned , scholarly, a person who can read and write, a person familiar with literature.

Thus literature , being learned, and reading and writing are closely related ideas that apply both to written works and to the people who write them —to the literati. By definition, to be literature a work must be written and read. Technically, that means that plays and other kinds of performances are excluded from this classification unless they are written primarily with the intention of being read, not acted, as in a play or opera.

Also excluded on technical grounds are poems, which are written primarily to be heard, not read, and unwritten oral poems, such as the works of the classic bards. However, today most people ignore these technical considerations. Most contemporary experts agree that these kinds of considerations are dismissible fine points; the modern inclination is to apply the term literature to acted plays and to poetry read out loud, so long as these works meet all the other basic requirements for literature.

As noted above, the term literature has diverse meanings. For example, in its broadest sense, literature includes any type of writings on any subject. And, in other, narrower senses, literature connotes the body of artistic writings of a country or period, as with the phrase, English literature of the 16th century ; or it denotes works characterized by beauty of expression and form and by universality of intellectual and emotional appeal.

According to popular usage, something or somebody might be literary if he, she, or it:. Pertains to books and writings. Pertains to authorship or literary style. Is versed in or acquainted with literature. Is well-read.

Pursues literature in a professional capacity, such as a writer, teacher, or critic. Is characterized by an excessive or affected display of learning; stilted; or pedantic.

If you look at proper and common nouns, you would see that countable and uncountable nouns fall under neither proper or common nouns. Hence, the reason you cannot capitalize them. Genre is neither a general nor specific name.

It is a subdivision of uncountable nouns like art and music as well as countable nouns like movies. And according to the rules of capitalization of nouns, only proper and common nouns can be capitalized. So far, we have clarified the rules that govern the capitalization of nouns, including proper, common, countable, and uncountable nouns. However, there are a few exceptions to the capitalization of the genre.

There are a few exceptions where the capitalization of genre is justified, and you would not be violating the capitalization rules on nouns in the English language. If the genre is the first word in a sentence, it must be capitalized. It is an established rule of capitalization in the English language, the first word in a sentence must be capitalized, and if it is a genre of music, movie, art, or literature, you must capitalize it.

There are no exceptions to this rule. Another exception to the rule of capitalization of the genre is if the genre name contains a proper noun, you must capitalize it.

For example, it would be incorrect to write Jane loves listening to French pop. The correct way is Jane loves listening to French Pop. In the example above, the genre name contains a proper noun, in this case, the name of a place. So, it must be capitalized. These are the two exceptions to the capitalization of genres when writing. Now that we have explained the basic rules that govern the capitalization of nouns, we will look at some examples for better clarity.

When writing, there should be no reason for you to capitalize words wrongly. The wrong capitalization of words makes your writings difficult to read and comprehend. And for you to capitalize correctly, you must have learned the rules for capitalization in that particular language.

If you have been getting the capitalization of genres wrongly, read this blog post to know and understand the proper capitalization. So, read up and stay correct when writing.