When we focus on the human conscience we can never forget William Shakespeare’s great tragedy Macbeth. The play gives us a psychoanalytical explanation of the main character Macbeth who is driven and deceived by the over ambition. Through Literary techniques like soliloquies and asides Shakespeare shows how Macbeth is ambitious to get the kingship. Before Macbeth assassinates King Duncan he sees an air drawn dagger which is created by his own imagination. “Is this a dagger which I see before me, the handle toward my hand?”(Macbeth, 2.1) Macbeth vacillates to take a decision and it confuses him to see hallucinations. Thus Shakespeare uses the power of language and Literature to manifest the inner conflict of his tragic hero so creatively. Thus Literature serves to refine and make our sensibilities more acute. It teaches us to listen carefully and look deeply attempting to understand more than the meaning that we see from the surface.
Literature plays an important role in the religions too. The Koran and the Bible helped to propagate their religions and to preserve some of the teachings without further corruption Mahabharata and Ramayana are great works of literature as they are sacred to the people. Thus literatures preserve the Values and ideals of the people. Books like Tripitaka were written during worst draughts in the purpose of preserving Buddhism and the Buddhist concepts.
Literature can bring out the importance of preservation. In G.M Hopkins’s poem Binsy poplars he speaks of importance of preserving nature so the next generations also will be able to see the beauty of the nature. “After -comers cannot see the beauty been” (line 19) Also the poem portrays the beauty of the poplar trees that had been dandling before they were cut off from the earth. Literature influences people. When they begin read poems thus they understand the beauty of nature and help to preserve it. Also it provides mankind with a form of immortality. As it says in Shakespeare’s famous sonnet 18 shall compare thee to a summer’s day? He brings out this theme of immortalization through the works poetry and art.
“As long as men can breathe or eyes can see so long live this and this gives life to thee” (line 16) Even today we speak about Shakespeare, John Donne, Keats, Blake etc. because they are immortal as long as people live in this earth. They are immortal because their themes and artworks are universal. It is true the fact that, languages are the building blocks of literature. But the study of literature cannot be restricted to only Studying languages. In fact Literature does not have a particular language. The language of literature is universal. There were some writers who wrote specially to gain some social change such as Charles Dickens. Dickens saw the ramifications of industrial revolution and he wrote stories through his rich imagination and experience. William Blake also was a poet who manifested political themes. His poems Landon, The chimney Sweeper brings out the oppressive social sources and the moral degradation of human beings and the corruption of institutions also the spread of venereal diseases .Some poets use the technique satire to convince people that they are being mislead by the government and the other institutions. W.H Auden in his poem The Unknown Citizen brings out this theme. “Was he free? Was he happy? The question is absurd, had anything been wrong we should have certainly heard”. (Lines 27, 28).Thus Ann Ranasinghe in her poem Secretariat brings out the inefficiencies of bureaucracy. Thus by reading literary works people can acquire knowledge and wisdom also it allows people to look at things in a critical and multi dimensional way. As the American poet Robert Frost says “The poem begins with delight and ends in wisdom”.
It is through reading such great literary and poetic works, that one understands life. They help a person to take a closer look at the different facts of life. In many ways it can change one’s perspective towards life. Therefore literature is rather important in our lives. It does help us to cope with the society. Literature brings us face to face with the essential human conditioning all its sublimity and all its degradation: All its powers and abilities as well as all its limitations. Emotions like love, forgiveness, generosity, etc and anger, malice, hatred etc. are conveyed through literary works. This shows that literature touches a wide range of human emotions.
Works Cited
William Blake, London by William Blake March31
Importance of literature importance of literature by
By Published: 3/7/2009.
Wikipedia.org Anne Frank
Frank ,Anne;Massotty,Susan(translation);Frank,ottoH.&Pressler,Mirijam(editors)(1995).The Diary of a young girl-The Definitive Edition.Doublebay,1SBN0-553-29698-1.(This edition, a new translation ,includes material excluded from earlier edition)
Religious Scripts: Oberlies (p. 158) based on 'cumulative evidence' sets wide range of 1700–1100. The (s.v. , p. 306) gives 1500–1000. It is certain that the hymns post-date separation of ca. 2000 BC and probably that of the Indo-Aryan Mitanni documents of c. 1400
G.M Hopkins - http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/victorian_poetry/v044/44.2nixon.html
DOI: 10.1353/vp.2006.0023
Macbethhttp://proxy.library.ndsu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=19778971&site=ehost-live&scope=site. ; Winter2006, Vol. 25 Issue 3, p13-29, 17p
The Secretariat –Sunday observer http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2005/08/21/mag05.html
Robert Frost – quotes http://www.quotedb.com/quotes?711