Faculty of Humanities and Social Science > English

How Literature Influences Life

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Razon Mahmood:
Literature includes prose (novel, novella, short stories etc), poetry, drama, essays etc which are written based on philosophy, art, history, religion, culture, science etc.  Literary works are portrayals of the thinking patterns and social norms prevalent in society. They are the depiction of the different faces of common man's life.

For example, when think about Sophocles’ “Oedipus the King” reminds us inevitability of fate, Herman Manville’s “Moby Dick” the power of nature, William Shakespeare’s “Romeo Juliet” true love, “Macbeth” the consequences of greed, Charles Dickens’ “A Tale of Two Cites” the consequences of abusing power, Ernest Hemingway’s “The Old Man and The Sea” & “The Sun Also Rises” stoic nature and struggle of life, James Joyce’s short story “A Painful Case” loneliness of a person and needs of a good company to stay alive, Jean-Paul Sartre's paly "The Respectful Prostitute" ugliness of racism, S.T Coleridge’s “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” sin and redemption etc. Reading such great literature and poetic works shape a person’s character and help one to understand life. Moreover, biography and auto-biography of eminent people of the world who made a valuable contribution to the society also inspire the readers. Essays on politics, psychology and society make people to view the life in a new way (Edward W. Said, Avram Noam Chomsky, Sigmund Frued).  

Literature helps a person take a closer look at the different aspects of life. In many ways, it can change one's perspective towards life. I think Literature is a great source of understanding people, culture, history, society etc and it enriches our living. If we can take the positive aspects of literature we can live better.    
  

Antara11:
Knowledgeable post. Really nice to know all these idea about life and literature.

Antara Basak
Lecturer
Dept of English

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