Eyes into the Past and Window into the Soul

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

of its author and the culture of its past.

The Purpose of Literature

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

merely educates. Neither encapsulates the entirety of literatures power.

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.

The Principles for Interpreting Literature

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

author communicating something of importance to his audience. Therefore, in order to properly

interpret a piece, the scholar must understand the author. For example, the Christian would be

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

humble and accept that he is wrong or else revel in his arrogance.

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

that he might not otherwise have seen.

The Influence upon Thinking of Literature

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

truth that can be communicated through literature is a truth worth receiving.

Works Cited
Hicks, Janet. Introductory Perspectives. Foundations of Literary Criticism 341. Summit

University, Clarks Summit. 24 Aug. 2015. Lecture.

---Literary Theory Reviewed. Foundations of Literary Criticism 341. Summit University,

Clarks Summit. 23 Nov. 2015. Lecture.

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.