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An Introduction to the Study of Literature

William Henry Hudson

Semester: 3 Paper No. 7

Q. 1 What is literature? What are the impulses behind the

study of literature?
OR
Discuss literature as an expression of life through the
medium of language.
Ans:

INTRODUCTION:

Literature defies any simplistic definition. Some people call

books on different subjects like history, geography, medicine etc.
as books of literature. For example, Hallam had named the books
on theology and medicine as the books of literature. However,
Charles Lamb had even refused to call the works of writers like
Hume and Gibbon as Literature. The question therefore arises as
to which books should be called books of literature? Are the
books on medicine etc. not different from the plays of
Shakespeare or the novels of Dickens? Can both be put under
the common title of literature?

HUDSON'S DEFINITION

W.H. Hudson tried to find a solution to this problem.

According to him the books of literature should have two
features. First of all they should be "of general human
interest " and secondly they should have "the element of
form" so that the readers can get pleasure from the form. These
books are called literature of power by De Quincey while the
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books on medicine, theology etc are classed as literature of

knowledge.

Another feature of the literature of power is that such books

interest not just a few but the majority of people. Their basic
function is to give aesthetic satisfaction. The raw material of such
books is life. However this life is presented before the readers by
the writer. Hence, traces of his personality too are found in his
work. The reasons behind the birth of literature or its impulses
are as follows : (1) Our desire for self - expression (2) Our
interest in other people and their doings (3) Our interest in both
the world of reality and the world of imagination and finally. (4)
Our love of form. These impulses are discussed in detail below:

THE IMPULSES:

The first impulse is based on our desire for self-expression.

Every human being likes to share his experiences of joy and
sorrow with other human beings. He can do this through the
medium of literature in an artistic manner. Hence the first
impulse of literature is man's desire to communicate with other
human beings. This desire leads him to write books which other
people would read and thus he can satisfy his desire to
communicate.

The second factor which gives birth to literature is man's

interest in what other human beings say and do. Therefore, man
does not just want to express himself but also wants to know the
opinions and actions of other men. Different human beings have
different experiences. One can know about the experiences of
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others through the medium of literature. This makes the reading

of literature interesting.

Thirdly we are interested in literature because it presents

before us both the world of reality and the world of imagination.
As human beings we are interested in both imagination and
reality. The writer presents life in his book. However, he does not
present life as a photographer does, he changes it using his
imagination and makes more beautiful than it is in reality. Thus
Arnold says literature is a "criticism of life."

The fourth impulse behind literature is our love for form. All
of us have a sense of beauty and beauty comes with proper
form. Hence if a work of art has a proper arrangement of words
it gives us aesthetic pleasure. Hence we love to write and read it.

TYPES OF LITERATURE :

Literature can be divided into different types according to

the subject matter. The literature that deals with the personal
experiences of an individual are lyric poetry, elegy and personal
essays. The literature that deals with the relationship of man
with God, man's idea of sin, destiny and death are the biography,
the balled or the epic. Those that deal with the external world of
nature and the relationship of man with it are the descriptive
essays and books of travel.

CONCLUSION:

Thus all literature, whether it is a poem, an essay, a drama

or a novel derives its raw material from life. The author collects
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the raw material of life using his intelligence. He then transforms

it using his imagination and presents it before the readers.
Literature therefore contains traces of the author's personality
and his social surroundings.

Q. 2 "A good book is the precious life blood of the master-

spirit". Comment.

OR

"Art is life seen through temperament." Comment.

OR

"A great book of literature has a fine blending of

imagination and personal experience of the writer." -
Comment.

Ans.

A work of literature obtains its raw material from life. The author
using his intelligence to collect the material from life. He
then uses his imagination and gives it new shapes. Therefore in
the work of literature we find traces of the personality of the
author. Hence, Hudson is correct when he says that "A great
book is born of the brain and heart of its author; he has
put himself into its pages."

Therefore the subject of literature is life. Hence as Matthew

Arnold says, it is a "Criticism of life." It is also, as a French critic
says "life seen through a creative temperament". This is because
it contains the authors views of life. The artist holds a mirror to its
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readers. The mirror reflects the society around him and also his own
personality.

ORIGINALITY:

A great work of literature is the one that is original. The

work of a writer who blindly copies the style of his predecessors
can never be great. A really great book is produced when the
writer has something fresh and original to say and he says it in a
fresh and independent way. Only such a writer can be said to
have a genuine voice. All others are only echoes. The literature
which is second hand, and only a copy of the original is always
classed below the original work even though it may be
technically excellent.

LITERATURE - A STEP AHEAD OF REALITY :

Though literature obtains its raw material from life, though

it is a copy of life, it is something more than life. This is because
it introduces us to the great personality of the writer. For
example, we love the essays of Charles Lamb because we are
introduced to the rich and lovable personality through his essays.
Same is the case with the works of other writers. Literature
brings us in contact with the personalities of great writers.

NOT NEWNESS BUT GENUINESS :

However, we cannot expect all works of art to be

completely original. For example, Shakespeare's Macbeth and
Hamlet were not his creations in the sense that they were real
historical characters and Othello was a character invented by an
Italian writer. But Shakespeare's works are unique because he
put these characters into situations which were his own creation.
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The way his characters talk and act, the way the story
progresses were all thought out by him and is not an imitation of
others. That is why his plays were a great success. Therefore
Ruskin is right when he says that we do not always have to
invent new themes but we should be genuine in the presentation
of old themes. This genuine voice should come from the writers
heart. Therefore by reading a great book we can penetrate into
the personal life of the author. We can understand his thought
and feeling. We can know the man behind the book.

Q. 4 Comment on the characteristics and use of biography.

Ans. A good biography offers a great deal of information about

the personal life of an author. This information would be useful in
analyzing his works. When we study an author's work, we
would be naturally curious to know about his ambitions,
struggles, successes and failures. We can get all such
information in a biography.

A good biography should not be mere gossip. A biography

of Shakespeare, which concentrates on details like the name of
Shakespeare's house or the furniture it had cannot be called a
good biography. We should take care to ensure that our curiosity
for details of the writer's life does not become vulgar. We should
care for only the details which would help us to understand his
works better. For example details of Carlyle's relations with Jane
or Shakespeare's relations with Anne Hathaway would not help
us to understand their works.

In order to be a good student of biography we must use not

just our heart but also our mind. We should know that is
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important, fundamental and necessary. Moreover, the same rules

may not apply to all writers. For example, the study of the
biographies of Dante and Goethe would help us a lot to
understand their works. However in case of Dr. Johnson his work
tell us more of his life than any biography. Therefore no standard
rule can be laid for the use and merits of biography.

Each of us have different likes and dislikes. So it is possible

that we may not agree with the ideas of each and every author.
But that does not mean that while reading the biography of an
author whose thinking does not match with ours, we should have
prejudices in our mind. Even though a particular writer may have
a different ideas or values from us we can gain by studying his
biography. This is because they exposed to a different viewpoint
from ours. This helps in making our mind more flexible and
broaden our outlook towards life. Therefore while reading a
biography we should avoid prejudices and be sympathetic with
the author. As W.H. Hudson says : "Only through sympathy
can we ever get into living touch with another soul."

Q. 5 "Style, as Caryle says is not the coat of a writer, but his

skin" - Justify.

OR

"Style is the man" Justify this statement.

Ans. INTRODUCTION :

Pope called style "the dress of thought." This would

mean that style is something which a writer can put on and take
off at his will. That is style is something detached or separate
from man. Carlyle differed from Pope. For him style is not the
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coat of the writer, but his skin. This means that the writer's style
is something that is always there with him. He cannot abandon it
at will. It is a part of his personality and is always seen in his
writings.

INFLUENCES ON STYLE :

It could be possible that a writer could model his writings

on the works of some great masters. It could also be possible
that some masterpieces written by great writers could
unconsciously leave an impact on his style. But this is where the
real test of greatness comes. Because a really great writer could
be sincere to himself, whatever may come. He will not blindly
copy others. As Hudson says "A man who has something
really personal to say" will always "find a really personal
way in which to say it."

ORIGINAL EXPRESSION :

If the thoughts are original, then the expression has to be

original. As Newman says "Literature is the personal use or
exercise of language." The writers thought and feeling are
personal, so his language is personal. That is the reason why,
while reading an unnamed book or an article we tend to exclaim
"so and so must have written that". That is because the
choice of words, phrases, structure of the sentences are his own.

UNCOMMON USE OF LANGUAGE :

A really great writer would not use the language as is

commonly used by the people around him. He would change it to
suit his requirements. Therefore through his style a writer shows
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his greatness and genius. Language receives a fresh from

the hands of every writer who has a great personality.
STYLE IS THE STORE HOUSE OF INFORMATION:

Style of a writer tells us about his education, about the

influences in his life, about his intercourse with the society and
other such details of his life. The changing events in life tend to
change the style in which a writer writes. For example, there has
been great changes in Shakespeare's style during the twenty
years of his dramatic activity. These changes show the changes
in Shakespeare's thought and feeling. Therefore style is
something that is closely linked to the writer and can therefore
be correctly called the skin of the writer not his coat.

Q. 1 What is National Literature ?

Ans. INTRODUCTION :

In order to understand a book of literature it is necessary that

we have an idea of the personality of the man who has written it. And
one of the ways in which to understand better the author is to study
the age in which he lived and the nation to which he belonged.

WRITER AND THE NATION :

A great writer does not live an isolated life. He is connected to

his nations past and the present. That is, he is related to his
predecessors and contemporaries and forms a part of the national
literature. National literature is a developing organism which changes
continuously. It affects the way in which an individual author writes.

National literature is not just a dry list of books written in one

language, in one country. Such a literature shows the progress or the
thinking process of a nation during all these years of its existence. If
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we study the literature of nation we can know the strengths and the
limitations of its citizens. By studying the literature of a nation we
travel to the nation and know how the minds of people of other race
work.

CONCLUSION :

However it is not necessary that all the writers of a nation write

in the same way. Individual writers may different. But one thing is
sure that the writers work would reflect the spirit of his race. For
example, a Greek writer, however different he may be from his
national type would always reflect the Greek spirit.

Therefore while political or social history deals with the external

detail, literature tells us about the mental and moral characteristics of
a nation. The history of literature tells us how the intellectual and
spiritual life of a nation has been formed.

Q. 2 Comment on literature as a social product.

Ans. A writer exhibits many qualities that are common to his time.
Therefore while studying one particular writer, if we compare him with
his contemporaries, we would understand him better. For example, we
can understand Shakespeare better if we also analyse the writings of
his contemporaries like Marlowe, Johnson and others.

It may be true that because of his great personality one

particular writer would be lot different from others of his age. But
then, if we read carefully, we would notice that these writers who
belong to the same age have many things in common. For example,
the Elizabethan dramatists have many similar characteristics among
themselves. However they different vastly when we compare them to
the dramatists of the Neo-classical or the Romantic age.

Pope and Tennyson, who belong to two different ages, when

placed side by side appear very different. One belongs to the age of
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Queen Anne while the other belongs to the Victorian age. Therefore
Tennyson's poetry shows the love of nature. However, Pope's poetry
does not exhibit any such thing. It concentrates on town life which was
the interest of the times. That is the reason why even though both
poets may have many things in common with their contemporaries
they are vastly dissimilar from each other.

Thus literature reflects the moods of joy, sorrow, hope, doubt,

struggle etc. in the life of a nation and the age. In short, it reflects the
spirit of the age. Therefore to study the literature of an age we have to
study the writings of each separate author of the age. Thus a great
collection would express a common spirit though there may be
individual differences.

As literature of the one age differs from that of an another age.

It is connected to history also. Literature cannot isolated from life. Life
produces literature. However literature also gives something back to
life. It makes life more rich and beautiful. Literature is therefore not
just a social product, it also contributes to the society.

Q. 3 Analyse Taine's formula of the race, the milieu and the

moment.

Ans. RACE, MILIEU AND MOMENT :

Taine, the French historian had tried to interpret in a scientific

manner. He believed that all individuals at a particular time are the
products of the forces governed by the race, the milieu and the
moment. By race he means the hereditary temperament of the people.
Milieu is the social surroundings, their climate, physical environment,
political institutions etc. And moment is the spirit of the period or the
stage of national development. According to him, we can study an
author by examining how these forces act on him and his
contemporaries.
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IMPORTANCE OF CONSIDERING PERSONAL GENIUS

However Taine's formula has many drawbacks. According to him

an individual is merely a product of his race or epoch. Taine overlooks
the factor of personality. He does not talk of that quality in a man
which differentiates him from his surroundings. According to Jebb a
genius combines his personal qualities with the qualities gifted to him
by his society or nation. For example Shakespeare had an individual
gift of flexibility of spirit, which is not normally found among the
English people. Therefore alogn with considering the external factors
one must also include in one's study the personal genius of the writer.

AUTHOR TOO AFECTS THE AGE :

Secondly Taine only talks about how the age affects the author.
He does not consider how the author affects the age. For example,
Victorian literature was affected by various intellectual movements
which took place at that time. These movements were stimulated and
guided by the writings of Tennyson, Browning, Carlyle, Ruskin,
Dickens and other geniuses. Therefore these great writers leave a
mark on the age in which they lived. Such writers are the creators as
well as the creatures of their times. Taine, therefore neglects the
individuality of the writer.

Taine's formula therefore, does not think of books as

expressions of individual thought. That is why his theory fails.

Q. 4 Comment on the use of the comparative method in the study of

literature.

Ans. We can understand an author better if we compare his work with

that of his contemporaries. This way we can know about the influence
of others on his thought and style. Similarly the literature of a race
and age are frequently influenced by the literature of an another race
and age. For example, English writers have frequently been inspired
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by the ideas coming from countries like Italy, France, Greece and
Rome.

The literature of one country has frequently inspired the

literature of another country. For example, by the end of the
seventeenth century England came under the influence of French.
French ideas were fashionable. And this influence we find in the
writings of Pope and other writers of England. Therefore to understand
English literature of this period then we have to constantly refer to the
literature of France.

After this we find a reversal of the literary current. France came

under the influence of English authors and thinkers like Locke,
Richardson and others. Therefore to understand French literature of
this period, we have to have an idea of the way Englishmen of this
period thought. Hence to understand English or French literature
completely, we have to study both the literatures together.
However in case of Germany it was German literature that first
came under the influence of English writings. But in the second half of
the eighteenth century Germany started to pay back in the field of
literary influence. Therefore, to understand the Romantic Movement in
English literature, we have to study both German as, well as English
thought.

Comparison can also be between the authors of two different

time periods. A genius of the past can influence the way in which an
author in the present time writes. The poets of the Romantic age were
influenced by the middle ages. Hence their poetry is full of
medievalism. Therefore, to understand Romantic poetry poetry we
should have an idea of what existed in the Middle Ages. Hence the
comparative method is a vital tool in the study of literature.