Famous People That Study Politicsgovernmentsciencemathtechnologyartand Literature
For many folks, the word "literature" conjures upwards memories of high school English class reading lists. While the Western literary canon is expanding to include, and elevate, stories outside of what white, Western readers take dubbed "the classics," there are still some works that crop up in every pupil's career, from Frankenstein and the Epic of Gilgamesh to Beloved and The Great Gatsby. So, why is literature of import — and why do we report information technology?
Merriam-Webster defines literature as poetry or prose that has "excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest." While it may sound trite to say, the world's greatest works of literature take changed minds, sparked rebellions, and helped to alter the course of history. While information technology would be impossible to incorporate all of literature'due south contributions and multitudes here, nosotros're going to take a look at some of the landmark moments in this art form'due south history.
Literature Transports Us To the Past
Like other recovered art objects, literature has the power to tell us almost ancient civilizations. Not only tin we empathize their customs, values and lives, simply we tin get a meliorate thought of what their amusement looked like. The first-known examples of literature can be traced back to ancient Mesopotamia. Effectually 3400 BCE, the Sumerians adult a system of writing called cuneiform, which immune scribes to tape 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-form Mesopotamian poem, was originally written effectually 2100 BCE. Even today, Gilgamesh is considered the offset great masterpiece of world literature. In fact, much of the Bible parallels this ancient work, furthering emphasizing simply how universal and influential Gilgamesh was — and continues to be today.
In 375 BCE, Plato, the Athenian philosopher, authored The Republic, a dialogue between Socrates and his beau Greek thinkers, which explores idea-provoking questions well-nigh justice, lodge and the just human being. And, around 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 United states of america Reevaluate Our Worlds
Early, literature was independent within poetry and dramatic works — after all, performing plays was another bang-up 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 first modern novel by many scholars.
Years later, in Europe, things started to shift in a meaningful way in the wake of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, a drove of 24 stories written in Middle English betwixt 1387 and 1400. Picking up the prose torch around 1485, Thomas Malory published Le Morte d'Arthur, i of the first novels in the Western canon. During the Renaissance, writers like Molière began satirizing everything from the church building and government to society at large, showing that written works had the propensity to shift the balance of power and make people rethink their world views.
During the 16th century, also known as the Ming dynasty, the Chinese novel Journey to the Due west was published. Attributed to Wu Cheng'en, this satire- and allegory-filled work is considered one of the Four Slap-up Classical Novels of Chinese literature. Effectually the same time, William Shakespeare was helping to lay the foundations of modern English language and arts and crafts the literary tropes and story formats we all the same enjoy today. And, of form, in 1615 Miguel de Cervantes penned Don Quixote, a romantic, archetypal novel that'south considered i of the most influential works of all time.
Literature Gives Folks a Vocalization and Platform — and Let's Readers See Themselves Reflected
Over again, it's incommunicable to fully encapsulate the breadth of literary history hither. Moreover, this article focuses on written works, just it's important to notation that many cultures and groups of people record stories through imagery instead — or laissez passer their stories down in oral traditions. All of this to say, our view of literature is a narrow one, and, in many ways, express by the way educational institutions have shaped our understanding of what works are important.
James Simpson, head of Harvard Academy'due south English Section, spoke about these limitations directly in an open letter to the Wall Street Journal entitled "Great Literature Magnifies Repressed Voices, Ever." For Simpson, the ages-old Western literary catechism, which highlights the literary contributions of white (and ofttimes straight) men, "betray[s] the key function of literature and other art forms, which is to hear the voices repressed by official forms of a given civilization."
Of course, the literary catechism has been refreshed in past, which proves that it's important to reshape and rethink the stories we deem essential. For example, at the time of its writing Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Ruby-red Letter was kind of the scandalous (hands consumable) HBO-similar story of the twenty-four hour period. Merely, now, information technology's largely considered a probing, essential piece of work — non just entertainment. In the wake of World War I, authors like Virginia Woolf and F. Scott Fitzgerald penned novels, similar Mrs. Dalloway and The Great Gatsby respectively, that captured their disillusionment first and foremost. However, these continue to exist must-read works due to the way they exemplify craft and storytelling elements. (At least in part.)
More than modernistic literature also ushered in the more formal notion of literary sub-genres, ranging from scientific discipline fiction — a genre created past Frankenstein author Mary Shelley — to romance, fantasy, and realism. By retracing sure tropes, conventions and character types, genre helps us understand the style particular stories are shaped by categorizing them.
Without a doubt, literature helps us uncover — be it an uncovering of the by, a present self, or a possible futurity. 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 space to name!), capture all of these facets. In short, by climbing into the minds of other characters and worlds — in stepping outside of ourselves — literature allows the states to understand universal truths; change minds; stir empathy; and express our identities and values in lasting, far-reaching ways.
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Source: https://www.reference.com/world-view/importance-literature-society-1a66a3cd21a90dd8?utm_content=params%3Ao%3D740005%26ad%3DdirN%26qo%3DserpIndex
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