Back to Square One Again Study
For many folks, the word "literature" conjures upward memories of loftier school English language class reading lists. While the Western literary canon is expanding to include, and elevate, stories outside of what white, Western readers have dubbed "the classics," at that place are nonetheless some works that crop up in every student's career, from Frankenstein and the Epic of Gilgamesh to Beloved and The Nifty Gatsby. Then, why is literature important — and why exercise we study it?
Merriam-Webster defines literature equally poetry or prose that has "excellence of class or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest." While it may audio trite to say, the earth's greatest works of literature take changed minds, sparked rebellions, and helped to alter the course of history. While it would be impossible to incorporate all of literature's contributions and multitudes hither, we're going to take a look at some of the landmark moments in this fine art grade'southward history.
Literature Transports U.s. To the Past
Like other recovered art objects, literature has the power to tell us near ancient civilizations. Not merely can we understand their customs, values and lives, merely we can get a better idea of what their entertainment looked like. The showtime-known examples of literature tin be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia. Around 3400 BCE, the Sumerians developed a system of writing chosen cuneiform, which allowed scribes to record myths, hymns and poetry. Some of these earliest-known transcriptions include the "Kesh Temple Hymn" and the "Instructions of Shuruppak," both of which were written effectually 2500 BCE.
The Epic of Gilgamesh, a long-grade Mesopotamian poem, was originally written around 2100 BCE. Fifty-fifty today, Gilgamesh is considered the first great masterpiece of globe literature. In fact, much of the Bible parallels this ancient work, furthering emphasizing just how universal and influential Gilgamesh was — and continues to be today.
In 375 BCE, Plato, the Athenian philosopher, authored The Republic, a dialogue betwixt Socrates and his fellow Greek thinkers, which explores thought-provoking questions about justice, gild and the just man. And, effectually the 8th century BCE, the landmark epics attributed to the poet Homer, The Odyssey and The Iliad, helped preserve Greek mythology and history in writing.
Literature Helps Us Reevaluate Our Worlds
Early on, literature was contained within poetry and dramatic works — after all, performing plays was another dandy source of entertainment. During the 11th century, or the Heian period, Japanese noblewoman and lady-in-waiting Murasaki Shikibu penned The Tale of Genji, which is considered the kickoff modern novel by many scholars.
Years later, in Europe, things started to shift in a meaningful way in the wake of Geoffrey Chaucer'southward The Canterbury Tales, a collection of 24 stories written in Middle English language between 1387 and 1400. Picking up the prose torch around 1485, Thomas Malory published Le Morte d'Arthur, one of the offset novels in the Western catechism. During the Renaissance, writers similar Molière began satirizing everything from the church and regime to society at big, showing that written works had the propensity to shift the residuum of power and make people rethink their world views.
During the 16th century, also known equally the Ming dynasty, the Chinese novel Journey to the Due west was published. Attributed to Wu Cheng'en, this satire- and apologue-filled work is considered i of the Iv Cracking Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Around the same time, William Shakespeare was helping to lay the foundations of modern English and craft the literary tropes and story formats nosotros all the same savour today. And, of form, in 1615 Miguel de Cervantes penned Don Quixote, a romantic, archetypal novel that's considered one of the most influential works of all time.
Literature Gives Folks a Voice and Platform — and Let's Readers See Themselves Reflected
Over again, it'due south incommunicable to fully encapsulate the latitude of literary history here. Moreover, this article focuses on written works, but it's important to note that many cultures and groups of people tape stories through imagery instead — or pass their stories downwardly in oral traditions. All of this to say, our view of literature is a narrow i, and, in many means, limited by the mode educational institutions accept shaped our agreement of what works are of import.
James Simpson, caput of Harvard Academy's English Department, spoke about these limitations straight in an open letter of the alphabet to the Wall Street Journal entitled "Great Literature Magnifies Repressed Voices, Always." For Simpson, the ages-erstwhile Western literary catechism, which highlights the literary contributions of white (and ofttimes straight) men, "betray[south] the fundamental role of literature and other art forms, which is to hear the voices repressed by official forms of a given culture."
Of course, the literary canon has been refreshed in by, which proves that it'due south of import to reshape and rethink the stories nosotros deem essential. For case, at the time of its writing Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Ruby-red Letter was kind of the scandalous (easily consumable) HBO-similar story of the twenty-four hours. But, now, it's largely considered a probing, essential piece of work — not simply amusement. In the wake of World War I, authors like Virginia Woolf and F. Scott Fitzgerald penned novels, like Mrs. Dalloway and The Corking Gatsby respectively, that captured their disillusionment showtime and foremost. However, these continue to exist must-read works due to the way they exemplify craft and storytelling elements. (At least in role.)
More mod literature also ushered in the more than formal notion of literary sub-genres, ranging from scientific discipline fiction — a genre created by Frankenstein author Mary Shelley — to romance, fantasy, and realism. By retracing certain tropes, conventions and character types, genre helps the states understand the way particular stories are shaped past categorizing them.
Without a doubt, literature helps us uncover — be it an uncovering of the past, a present self, or a possible future. The most distinguished literary greats, like Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, Margaret Atwood, James Baldwin, Kazuo Ishiguro, Chinua Achebe, Jhumpa Lahiri, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Zadie Smith, and Maggie Nelson (and many, many more folks we don't have the infinite to name!), capture all of these facets. In brusk, past climbing into the minds of other characters and worlds — in stepping outside of ourselves — literature allows us to understand universal truths; change minds; stir empathy; and express our identities and values in lasting, far-reaching means.
Source: https://www.reference.com/world-view/importance-literature-society-1a66a3cd21a90dd8?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740005%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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