Five differences between fiction and scientific literature. Convenient table

The world of literature is amazing and diverse, there are a great many books, and their most basic division is into scientific and artistic. Let's see how they differ.

Target

The difference between fiction and scientific literature lies in the purpose of writing a work. So, if a novel, story or poem can give the reader aesthetic pleasure, gives him the opportunity to immerse himself in the world of the author's intention, then a reference book or scientific research has more mundane motives - reporting certain facts, hypotheses, analyzing a phenomenon. To write such works, as a rule, not only the knowledge of a particular scientist is used, but also the systematization of data on a particular subject, the achievements of researchers of past years are described. They argue or agree with them. The purpose of a scientific treatise is to inform colleagues about the discovery made, to secure the right to it.

Plot

If there is a plot in a work of art, then it is not in a scientific treatise or monograph, the text is a consistent presentation of facts, attempts to interpret and explain them, and contains hypotheses. The presentation is strictly logical, while in a novel or story the author can work with several time plans, looking ahead or going back.

At the same time, in one work there may be a number of storylines, and in a work or treatise several phenomena or objects are described, but the presence or absence of a plot will make it possible to distinguish one work from another.

Use of artistic techniques

What is the difference between fiction and scientific literature in terms of design? First of all, for the first, not only the content is important, but also the form. The writer is the master of the word. He tries to put his thoughts into an ideal form, therefore he actively uses tropes: sonorous epithets, bright catchy comparisons, hyperbole, parallelism. Oxymorons and euphemisms help to achieve a special effect. For example, Tolstoy's play is called The Living Corpse. This is an oxymoron, that is, a combination of words that do not match in meaning. In reality, a corpse cannot be alive. But it is this trope that helps the author to characterize the character of the protagonist, Fedor Protasov, his torment and quest, the desire to die.

But the scientific literature does not use the trail. The speech of a scientist is always accurate, the object or phenomenon being studied is described in detail, clearly. Of course, the researcher can use comparisons and definitions, but only in order to describe the object of his work in as much detail as possible. Exaggerations, oxymorons in a strict treatise are unacceptable.

Heroes

Another difference between fiction and scientific literature is the presence or absence of heroes. So, in a novel or a poem, there must be a character. In "Eugene Onegin" it is Onegin himself, Tatyana, Lensky, Olga. In the course of the story, different events happen to them, the characters undergo personal evolution, communicate with each other. Some characters are the main ones, key to revealing the author's intention, others are secondary, necessary to play out any situation with the main characters or also to express the ideas of the writer. Individual characters in a work of art may die in the course of the story, which also makes it possible for the writer to convey important information to his reader. For example, the murder of Lensky in a duel in Pushkin's novel suggests that Onegin, despite the ability and ability to think, has not yet departed from the rules imposed by a society despised by him.

In scientific treatises and works, everything is different. They don't have a hero. You can, of course, conditionally call the subject and object of research heroes, but there is no author's fantasy in what happens to them. Scientists present all the facts, based on their own observations, and conjecture may also take place. For example, when describing an insect unknown to science, an entomologist may assume the purpose of a particular organ. Therefore, in an article or monograph there are the words "I suppose", "I suppose", "hypothesis". Gradually, already in other works, each hypothesis is tested by facts and refuted or confirmed.

Genre

Another difference between fiction and scientific literature is their use of different genres. So, for the artistic, first of all, the division into prose and poetry is characteristic, within which a story and a novel, an elegy and a thought, a play and a fairy tale stand out. Each of the genres has its own specifics and distinctive features. The world of scientific works is also quite diverse: these are treatises, articles, reviews, reports, abstracts, reviews.

Table

Capaciously and briefly present in the table the differences between fiction and scientific literature. This will help you remember the material faster and, if necessary, refresh it in your memory.

The table shows the key differences between fiction and scientific literature. In conclusion, we note that modern authors often try to combine features, for example, presenting information in a scientific work emotionally and with expression. However, taking into account the scope of application, it is always possible to quickly determine whether a particular work belongs to scientific or artistic literature.