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For some of the oldest civilizations on earth, literature is one of the only means the
modern world has to understand their culture. Historians have to make conjecture after
conjecture concerning artifacts and monuments, but with literature the answers are either spelled
out or able to be deciphered. If all historians had from Ancient Egypt were the pyramids and
ancient pottery, they would never know the extent about the ancient civilizations culture that
they do. It is not the physical remnants but the literary, the ancient hieroglyphs, that have opened
the eyes of the historians to the wonders of this ancient world. Literature serves as eyes into the
past for the historians. Without it, all the modern world could do is hypothesize. However, not
only does literature serve as eyes into the past, but it also serves as a window into the authors
soul. In great literature, I become a thousand different men but still remain myself, (n. pag.)
C.S. Lewis once said. From dry textbooks to romantic poetry, literature reflects the worldview
Throughout human history, literature has been used by authors in order to communicate
something of importance to their audiences. Sometimes the author has something deep and
insightful to communicate, but other times the author merely wants to communicate the joy or
sorrow that life can bring. Although literature has matured and progressed much since its
inception, it still bears much the same purpose that it did in the beginning. Horace once said,
Poets aim either to help or to amuse the reader . . . (92) or as is said today, to educate and to
entertain. Much of todays literature largely entertains, and much of earlier times literature
In order to understand the purpose of literature, and therefore its importance, one need
only consider those authors who are considered the best in their fields. William Shakespeare is a
Victorian-age playwright who is now considered the greatest playwright in history. Although
Shakespeare is certainly a technical genius and a master of language, his true appeal lies in his
ability to understand human nature. He is considered great because his literature is timeless.
Culture changes over time, but human nature has never changed. Looking through the lens of
literature, a scholar can see and understand the people of the past, but most importantly he can
see that people have not changed much since the beginning of literature. The manner in which
the understanding of human nature has changed much over time, but the subject itself has stayed
depressingly constant.
In todays time, scholars have millennia of literature they must interpret. Being so
removed from the time of its writing can make it difficult for scholars to properly understand a
piece, and any scholar who arrogantly assumes to better understand the literature today than the
people of that time did is already set up for failure. If the scholars goal is merely to decide what
he himself understands from the piece, then he is not accurately interpreting his piece. Before he
can even begin, the scholar must first understand the difference between application and
interpretation and avoid applying before interpreting the piece (Literary Theory n. pag).
After having read through the piece of literature once, the scholar should take a step
outside the piece and research its context: that is, the historical and cultural influences
surrounding the author during the pieces writing. To ignore the historical and cultural context
puts the scholar in danger of interpreting a piece through the lens of his time. Many historical
authors could be accused of numerous modern-day sins when their literature is interpreted in this
way. Therefore, it is the scholars duty to evaluate the context and shift his thinking to match the
time period.
Secondly, the scholar must consider the author. Literature in its purest form is simply an
wrong to interpret an atheists work through a Christian lens, for he would be imposing his
worldview on the authors work. If an author contradicts what the scholar thinks, he must be
Thirdly, and most importantly, the scholar must always look to the text (Hicks n. pag.).
Although it might be tempting to whip out a third-party source to help in understanding a piece,
to do so before even considering the piece is wrong. No matter how insightful the third-party
source might be, its author is not the pieces author and is therefore not infallible in his
interpretation. Once the piece itself has been read and evaluated through the proper lens, then
the scholar is free to turn to third-party sources in order to broaden his understanding of the piece
Literature indeed has power. It can greatly influence those who read it. Well-known
authors can easily sway their unsuspecting readers toward their viewpoint. However, rather than
literature changing the tide of culture, it seems to rather reflect it. As great and prominent men of
the past mulled over and challenged the views of their world and culture, they began to pen their
thoughts and change the flow of history. However, even the greatest of men are far more likely
to be influenced by a changing culture than the culture is to be influenced by one man. For
example, the scholar should consider the literature of today. Much of it is entertainment-based
versus education-based, and any form of literature that is more concerned with conveying ideas
over providing entertainment is often termed boring. The books of old go largely
unappreciated by the vast majority, who prefer to sit through the newest Michael Bay
Transformers movie over reading The Grapes of Wrath by Steinbeck. Are the people being
influenced by this new trend in literature or was this new trend in literature influenced by the
people? Perhaps the question presents a false dichotomy, as if the scholar must choose one over
the other. The reality is perhaps closer to a compromise. Literature changes with the culture, but
literature can also change the culture. Looking back through history with mostly only literature
to guide the scholars of today, pinpointing what might have caused changes in thinking can be
difficult to ascertain. What can be said is that literature has the power to change minds, and with
that power can come a tidal wave of change in the overall trend of the surrounding culture.
Literary criticism can be both fascinating and frustrating. The temptation for literary
scholars is to pick apart pieces while forgetting to actually enjoy what they are reading. Perhaps
it is my frustration with this reality that has influenced my thinking, but I have a hard time
swallowing the mantra of to educate and to entertain. Education implies that something has to
be learned, and the need for learning implies that the reader is uneducated and requires correction
of their wrong thinking. I have found that the literature I find most gripping and thought-
provoking is not that seeking to educate or even to entertain me but that which forces me to
think deeper about my reality. I believe that literature is at its greatest when it is not seeking to
teach me what I do not know but rather when it is showing me what I already know in a different
and unique way. One of my favorite plays by Shakespeare is The Tempest, a play which does not
teach me anything new. After I had turned the last page and read the last word, I did not feel
more educated, but I felt enlightened, in a sense. Shakespeare presented a play that explored
the human capacity to forgive, and it was brilliant. In the end, he had thrown away the mantra of
to educate and to entertain and simply sought to get his readers thinking deeper about a reality
they already knew. As a Christian, although I understand that I should view literature differently
than an unbeliever to a certain extent, I also have realized that all truth is Gods truth, and any
Works Cited
Hicks, Janet. Introductory Perspectives. Foundations of Literary Criticism 341. Summit
Horace. Epistle to the Pisones: the Art of Poetry. Criticism: Major Statements, 4th ed. Ed.
Charles Kaplan and William Davis Anderson. Boston: Bedford, 2000. 84-95. Print.
Lewis, C.S. An Experiment in Criticism. Cambridge: Bentley House, 1961. Kindle file.