Something is a piece of literature when it shows a sense of reality and it has a certain kind of tension or conflict. The unity of time, place and characters is another prerequisite which makes a work a work of literature. The artistic unity where the main idea is to be conveyed is also important. A work of literature will also have similes, metaphors, irony, symbolism etc. A work of literature can be fictional or non-fictional depending on the content. But if the work is narrative a story, a poem which can be derived from reality or can be based on imagination.