Literature has stood the test of time, as this written works and texts have a lasting intellectual or artistic value and effect on its audience. A particular text is said to impact implicitly or explicitly on historical, cultural, economic, and political aspects of the society. In recognition of literature as an important aspect of our lives, Kennedy & Gioia, (2016), refer us to the observation of the critic Wilbur Scott, “Art is not created in a vacuum, it is the work not simply of a person, but of an author fixed in time and space answering a community in which he is important, because articulate part ( Kennedy & Gioia, 2016) .” It is important to study literature since it provides a sneak peek into history. The world, as we know it today, is nothing like it was in the 14 th century, for instance. Humanity’s very own genealogy is traced many years back, which would not have been the case if nobody wrote about it then. People have changed largely, and the only way to ascertain this is by tracing back our lineage footsteps.
Literary works help us learn, understand, and appreciate other people’s cultures and beliefs, other than our own. The importance of literature to the diversity of time and culture has remained unchangeable, “their human significance, their specific individuality cannot be separated from the context in which they were created (Kennedy & Gioia, 2016). ” Likewise, the Marxist Criticism by the Hungarian philosopher Georg Lukacs explores the belief that all art is political, that even if a piece of art may directly ignore political issues, it always represents a political statement, by endorsing economic and political status quo. By reading Georg’s work, we see his view on the world. One can understand life through reading literary and poetic works and is also able to look closely at the different facets of living in society, thus improving our social living and perspective towards life. Not only does literature add to reality, but it also describes it (Hogan, 2011). It does this by enriching the necessary competencies that are required and provided by daily life, thus irrigating the barrenness that has become our lives. This adage by C. Lewis, a British scholar, and novelist, sums up the importance of literature in our lives.
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References
Buzzle. (2019, April 19). Discover the importance of Literature and Why Everyone Needs It [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXUjXohai-U
Department of English at Stockholm University. (2019, April 19). Why Study English Literature [video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Xc3s5Gwis
Hogan, P. Colm (2011). What Literature Teaches Us about Emotion? New York: Cambridge University Press.
Kennedy, X.J. & Gioia, D. (2016). Literature: An introduction to fiction, poetry, drama, and writing (13 th Ed.). New York, NY: Pearson Education
