Literature is written work valued for its artistic, imaginative, or expressive qualities. In a poetry setting, the word usually includes poems along with fiction, drama, and other forms of creative writing, and it often suggests work that is read not just for information but for language, style, and meaning.
The term can also be used more broadly for the body of writing on a subject, but in literary study it most often refers to creative writing rather than practical or technical prose.
Example
In class we moved from a news article to a sonnet, noticing how literature can inform us and also shape feeling through image, rhythm, and sound.