Age of literary revival

In popular belief, literature includes everything that is printed in a book. However, even the most thoughtless person is aware that literature includes an element of common interest to man. Although done in a hurry, what you read in a newspaper is also part of literature. That is why most readers maintain a cutting file.

Literature has an impact on the popular mind. It upholds truths, renews our ideas about the world, comforts us and sometimes alarms us in manifold ways. For instance, William Shakespeare's plays are not only meant for entertainment but also to provide us with insight to human problems. Even Athenian plays in the 5th and 6th centuries before Christ had an impact on the public mind.

Much literature - scenic, forensic, or didactic - may never come into books. Sometimes, what comes into books may not form part of literature. Newspapers very often accommodate literature which has some interest to a certain segment of the readership.

Thomas De Quincey once said there were two kinds of literature. One is the literature of knowledge; the other is the literature of power. The function of the first is to teach; the function of the second is to move. In other words, we impart knowledge through literature. Similarly, we move people to action through literature. In that sense, literature is not merely an academic exercise. It has a utilitarian function. That means literature has some power over the people.

We have reflected so little on the higher function of literature. For instance, what do you learn from 'Paradise Lost'? You might say that nothing at all. But you can learn a lot from a cookery book. Every paragraph will tell you how to prepare a tasty item of food. Does it mean that you have to place the cookery book above 'Paradise Lost'? We owe something to Milton who wrote 'Paradise Lost' because after reading it we are elevated to a higher ground. A book of cookery is incapable of raising our level of wisdom.

This is the very reason that many newspapers sometimes open their pages for literature of a higher order. If the readers are not elevated, newspapers will have no chance of survival in this Electronic Age. Neither the radio nor television has been able to teach or impart literature to listeners and viewers. It is the newspapers which always try to bring literature to the doorstep of readers. 'Montage' is a step taken by the Sunday Observer to popularize literature of a higher order.

Literature tries to impart a sense of justice through poetry, drama, and fiction. This is a kind of poetic justice which is quite different from justice of human jurisprudence, Poetic justice is more powerful than human justice. If not for literature man will never come to know of the higher form of poetic justice.

Human beings need literature for another reason: Intellectual deliverance. To achieve this we have to learn classical literature and Greek and Roman history. The profitability of studying literature has often been questioned by those who have never been exposed to classical literature. It is true that by learning and passing examinations related to literature will not take you anywhere in the job market. Even if you have a PhD in literature nobody will want to hire you unless you have other skills.

Do we really need an intellectual deliverance in this Digital Age? Our present age has a complex present and a complex past. The intellectual deliverance consists of man's comprehension of this complex present and the past. The present generation has lost its roots and it is moving in a confused world. Those who are well versed in literature know how to get out of this complex situation.

In a world rent by dissension, rivalry, and hatred, literature is a binding force. The arts and literature have helped man to find his place in the universe. However, nobody can learn literature in isolation. For instance, we cannot study separately the great literatures of ancient Greece or Rome without comparing and contrasting them. We must make an attempt to compare today's literature with the ancient forms of literature to gain a comprehensive knowledge. It is downright folly to think that modern literature is superior to ancient literature.

Literature interprets its own era but in offers something more.

Literature has more power and force than the people who belong to a particular era. In such a situation literature will be more interesting than the era itself.

Every age can be judged by its volume and quality of literature. We should be glad that we are living in an age of literary revival. Having put an end to terrorism, the Government has created an atmosphere for the people to read literature at leisure. As a result, many local publishers are publishing short story collections, anthologies of poetry and novels in all the three languages. In addition, many important books are being imported to the country to quench the thirst of knowledge.

'Montage' is a humble tribute to readers who are lucky to have been born in an age of literary revival.

In other words, we are witnessing and enjoying a renaissance.