English Literature and English History

'Every man belongs to his race and age , and no matter how marked his personality, the spirit of his race and age finds expression through him .' - An Outline History of English Literature ,  William Henry Hudson , B.I. Publications (P) Ltd., New Delhi , First Edition 1961, Reprinted 1994, page 5

'Ordinary English history is our nation's biography ,its literature is its autobiography ; in the one we read the story of its actions and practical achievements ; in the other the story of its intellectual and moral development . - same , page 6.

'English literature and literatre in English have now merged together in such a way that mere English history is now awfully insufficient from the viewpoint of the study of English literature .'
                                                                                            - Dr Om Prakash Pandey

Is drama literature ?

Dramas are  meant to be staged and viewed . So, strictly speaking it seems to raise some doubts . But , dramas make good reading stuff too .William Shakespeare's dramas are so interesting in reading . So are the dramas of Kalidasa in Sanskrit . George Bernard Shaw's dramas seem to have been designed mainly for being read only .
However , in Sanskrit poetics drama has been clearly accepted as literature . It is called 'drishya kavya ' .

NET- What is literature ?

Michael Alexander in 'A History of English Literature '(Palgrave  Macmillan , 175 Fifth Avenue New York 10010) says," 'Literature' is a word with a qualitative implication , not just a neutral term for writing in general ." Now what are the qualities that make a piece of writing literature ? And , is literature always and essentially a piece of writing ? The Vedas and several ancient lores in several languages and dialects were  composed long before they were first reduced into writing . Yet , they are verily literature . So, something is literature mainly because it possesses certain distinct qualities.