literary present

English

Examples
In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice is a little girl who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatures. Shakespeare writes about universal themes.

Noun

literary present (uncountable)

1. (grammar) The present tense as used by convention to describe events in fictional works, such as when explaining the plot of a book or film.
2. (grammar) The present tense as used to describe an action of speaking or writing that lives on through written works or record.

Usage notes

See notes at historical present.

See also

• historical present