Literature refers to works of art that are in the form of text. Literature however does not always have to be published. Critics exclude certain works from being called literary on the basis of weakness in style or language. Poetry and prose are two main classifications of literature.
The earliest known literary work can be traced back to 1900BC, titled The Epic of Gilgamesh. Literary works created from the early to mid-iron age show attempts at thoughtful composition. Literature was prevalent since ancient times in Greece, Persia, Rome, Ancient China and India. With the coming of urbanization literature developed as well.
Poetry is written in verse and relies heavily on metaphors, word choice and imagery. Poems may or may not use rhymes. It also may use different patterns of syllables of varying lengths. Some types of poetry have specific forms, for instance a limerick that consists of five lines. Poetry that does not conform to any forms is known as free verse.
The style of the poems is often dictated by cultural traditions. For instance, Greek poetry rarely rhymes unlike Persian poetry which always does. Italian and French poetry rhymes often but not always. English poems can go both ways.
Prose on the other hand has a more natural flow unlike poetry. It consists of full grammatical sentences which then form paragraphs. Prose is simple, does not have any precise definition or involve meters. It is owing to this characteristic that it is widely adopted. Short stories, essays and novels are examples of prose. | 
