Adil Ahmad
“Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.” This is what C.S Lewis said about literature.
It is a reflection of mankind, tells about the real portraits of human life and is never afraid to criticize the cruelty of society and is always tried and trying to educate society. It is timeless and townless. Literature, written in the times of Greek in Athens or some other places, is still explored by many people, which is why it is timeless and townless.
Literature is a pure and concise history of the time when it is written. History itself doesn’t tell the truth about a nation, but literature does. A person who wants to know the facts about a nation in the past should study the literature of that nation rather than history. History is always written by the powerful and conquerors, that’s why the validity of history is doubtful, while no king or conqueror can influence the writer. Literature without fear tells the real pictures of society and nations.
Besides, literature prevails over ingenuity, critical thinking, and creativeness, refreshing the mind of the reader. Its reading creates the habit of critical thinking and critically analyzing, creativeness and intuition in readers. Literature changes the way of thinking and changes the lifestyle of a person. The taste of literature is a real understanding of life. Literature discusses societal norms and taboos.
It is a philosophy of life, it tells how to spend life with happiness, problems free and a willful life. Short stories and novels are not just stories but observations and experiences of life by a writer, teaching how to deal with problems and suffering in life, how to be successful and how to lead a purposeful life. Through the characters and their suffering, the novel teaches different lessons and moral values.
Literature enhances communication skills, vocabulary and the use of elevated language. Literature has always been written in lofty language, with the use of impressive vocabulary. Communication skills of the literature reader improve, the reader knows the usage of high language with extraordinary vocabulary. Good communication skills are a basic need of life spending with happiness, career-making, and impressing the hearers. Leaders are readers, is a common sentence in everyone’s mouth. Leaders by reading and studying literature, know the use of elevated language in their speeches, and know to deal with problems in effective ways.
Apart from that, literature sometimes conveys a deep message, in the form of poetry and novels. Novels and poetry in the past and still in present are written to satirize politics, government, monarchy and society. When we study British literature, we get familiar with the name of the great Elizabethan poet P. B. Shelley. P. B. Shelley was a great poet, he satirized the monarchy system of England in his poetry. The theme of all his poems is freedom and liberty. Ode to the west wind is a famous poem, in which he satirizes the monarchy in England, and motivates the people of England of that time toward freedom and liberty. Animal Farm, George Orwell’s novel, is also a political satire.
In Urdu literature, we can become familiar with names such as Habeeb Jalib, Ahmad Faraz, Faiz Ahmad Faiz and many other poets and writers, who were political satirists who wrote against dictatorship. Habeeb Jalib was a critic of dictator Zia, because of critiquing the Zia government in his poetry, he had to live in jail. Faiz Ahmad Faiz and Ahmad Faraz also suffered from these circumstances and were arrested by police.
Literature also has aesthetic and dialectic qualities. It entertains its readers and also teaches morality and ethics. The reader can gain pleasure by reading novels, short stories and poetry, and can also learn morality and ethics. It refreshes the mind and does not let its reader be bored.
Literature abates the stress and boredom of its reader, takes the concentration of its reader and never lets its reader be distracted from reading, through its captivated stories attract the attention of its reader. Literature books are best friends in loneliness. Literature books can be read while traveling and among people in a public place, it always attracts attention.
It also cultivates wisdom and worldview. World issues are associated with the emotion of the heart, and good principles are formed by reading classic literature. Good and evil, justice and injustice and their consequences are discussed in the literature. In the time of the Greeks, the children of Athens were taught humour to teach them morality and ethics.
Truly, literature makes us awake to think about creating a civilized society. That’s why everyone should study literature, especially all Pakistanis, must study literature to understand the dirty politics of our country. Those who taste literature taste life and those who understand literature understand life.