Super Glossary

Literal

Entertainment / Literature / Literal: A literal passage, story, or text is one intended only (or primarily) as a factual account of a real historical event rather than a metaphorical expression, an allegorical expression of a larger symbolic truth, or a hypothetical example. The most common mistake students make is confusing the terms true, factual, and literal. Some things are true but not factual. Some things are meant literally but they are not factual. And some things are presented factually that aren't true. For instance, in Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire, Rice presents her narrative as an actual biography of a vampire. The material is presented using various trappings of factuality, and the writing style encourages readers to suspend their disbelief and imagine that the vampire Louis Dulac literally exists as he dictates his story, rather than encouraging the reader to think of Louis Dulac as an unreal symbol or some abstraction like 'sexualized death' or 'commercial consumption.' It's only late in the tale that Louis turns into a symbol for modernity. Earlier in the tale, the presentation of details such as the tape recorder running out of tape, and other interruptions by the reporter, and the historical reality of New Orleans and Paris help encourage a literal mindset. However, the story is not true in the sense we normally mean the word, even though it is meant to be read in a literal manner.
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