Literature as many of you might agree, is a subject that is part of our subconscious lives without us noticing it. The concept of literature was indeed one of the most abstract and difficult topics that we discussed in our last Talk Show.
Many participants announced their lack of knowledge regarding literature right-off-the-bat, and those who actually established signs of interest in the topic were honest enough to admit the ambiguity of the subject matter.
So why is literature so laborious for the bulk of the people to define and discuss? Does it imply that literature is no longer considered crucial, and the modern world does not pay enough attention to it? Is it simply due to various alternatives that are brought upon by the new technologies…things such as round-the-clock TV channels and the internet that provide us with the magnitude of information to the point where literature proves unnecessary?
In this regard I quoted a few statements about literature in our Talk Shows which might enlighten this seemingly rigorous construct :
- “The difficulty of literature is not to write, but to write what you mean; not to affect your reader, but to affect him precisely as you wish.”
Robert Louis Stevenson
- “Books are humanity in print.”
Barbara W. Tuchman
- “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.”
C.S. Lewis
- “What is wonderful about great literature is that it transforms the man who reads it towards the condition of the man who wrote.”
E. M. Forster
- "Poetry is at least an elegance and at most a revelation."
Robert Fitzgerald
- “While thought exists, words are alive and literature becomes an escape, not from, but into living”
Cyril Connolly
Most participants agreed upon the fact that literature is a channel through which ideas and emotions are emitted, i.e. one can use literature as a means to use their higher faculties [traits that are exclusive to humanity] in order to express one's notion. A few students actually went on and declared that literature could be even a mean by and of itself.
Literature takes various forms including but not limited to fiction, non-fiction, poetry, prose, journal, autobiography, biography and many more.
All classes unanimously agreed that literature affect the lives of every single one of us, and has direct impact on the way we interpret the world, hence the direct link between culture and literature was instituted.
After discussing the general definition of literature, we then moved on to scrutinize different types of literature. Initially we classified literature in two forms of ancient and modern. Despite the mixed opinions about either forms, Talk Show attendees generally believed that ancient literature is akin to a locked treasure which emanates beams of wisdom from afar ,however can not be fully embraced unless unlocked first. This issue was particularly magnified by the fact that well-known literary works such as William Shakespeare's and Hafiz's need to be deciphered before they reveal their true spirit.
On the other hand, modern literature, while far more convenient to digest, sometimes can not yield the level of depth that is otherwise achievable through study of old-style composition. This predicament is further amplified by the fact that contemporary authors across the globe [excluding few territories] face with the nonsensical challenges of censorship, financial insecurity, and the hectic phase of modern lifestyle.
Towards the finis of the classes I asked the learners to cite their favorite genre of literature which, not to my surprise, led to conclusion that romance and fiction are certainly the most sought-after literary genres especially among females!
In the end, the majority of the participants admitted that their knowledge concerning literature is indeed insufficient, and they realized their imminent need for more literature studies.
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