The word "what" is used in literature in a remarkably versatile way, serving as both an interrogative pronoun and a relative pronoun that invites readers into a dialogue with characters or ideas. In some contexts it poses direct questions that provoke action or reflection—for example, John’s inquiry in [1] (“What can you want with those three fern rods?”) and the straightforward challenge in [2] (“What shall we do?”). In other cases, "what" introduces indirect questions or clauses that deepen the narrative, as seen in [3] (“It is only what I often say to myself”) where it reflects internal thought, or in [4], where it frames the cause of emotional distress. Additionally, its use in rhetorical questions—as in [5] (“not knowing from whence he came nor to what place bound”) and even in exclamations like [6] (“What vexatious things one's children are!”)—demonstrates how "what" can both question and characterize, prompting readers to consider both concrete situations and abstract ideas. In this way, "what" acts not only as a tool for inquiry but also as a means to develop character and theme, connecting diverse narrative strands within a literary work.