Every
time I pick a book up I: examine the cover, read the title, flip through the
pages paying attention to page numbers and font, turn it over in my hands,
examine the back, read the short synopsis and then I… put it back on the dusty
shelf or I wipe the dust off and open it. What instigates me to place the book
back on the shelf? What prompts me to open it and dive in? I obviously have
expectations that the book has either met or has not, but what are they?
Honestly, I never thought about it before, probably because a lot of my book-picking
happened under the hood, in the subconscious and never required much deliberate
thought. There are, inside me, profile contours and bitting cuts that the book
had to match for me to leave it in my hand. But what are they and where did
they come from?
In
Italy, in the last century BC lived a man, Horace. He wrote many things, but
among the most famous was the Epistolas
Ad Pisones De Ars Poetica or Epistles
to the Pisos, The Art of Poetry. He was not the first man, nor the last to
dwell on the abysmal world of poetry. Yet it was his words and his beliefs,
that I realized, gave birth to my own. Horace said, “It is not enough for poems to be beautiful; they must be affecting, and
must lead the heart of the hearer as they will.” This means that literature
is not to only have aesthetical value, but it must be deeper and touch the most
secret parts of a reader’s heart. However he also pointed out the importance of
a lesson in literature, reaching back to Plato and setting trends for both Plotinus
and Boccaccio. “The aim of the poet is to
inform or delight, or to combine together, in what he says, both pleasure and
applicability to life. In instructing, be brief in what you say in order that
your readers may grasp it quickly and retain it faithfully. Superfluous words
simply spill out when the mind is already full. Fiction invented in order to
please should remain close to reality.” To summarize, Horace expands on his
first assertion and claims that a poet’s goal is to teach or entertain, or
better yet, do both.
When
reflecting back on my choices of books and my responses and reactions to them,
I noticed a pattern and how could I not. I hate dystopian novels, despise works
with inconclusive conclusions and loathe those that leave me stunned, empty and
dubious. So what do I want? What do I believe about literature and what drives
my choices? Here it is plain and simple. There are different types of
literature, those that teach, entertain or involve. There are and should be
those that do all three and there must be those that do one at a time. To break
it down even more, a book must bring to its reader a lesson, satisfaction or
hope. The books that teach will present a lesson. And… this is where I hear the
protests rise from within my readers, so I will elaborate. The lesson that is
presented does not have to be prescriptive, or in other words include a bunch
of do’s and don’ts. The author could as easily have hidden a descriptive lesson
within his work and this would mean we are placed before the fact of how things
are. In Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I believe the lesson is not “Thou shalt
not cheat on your husband, for thou will end up under a train”, because
that is not the sort of author Tolstoy is. Rather he teaches us of what it is
like to have lived in a society back then, especially for women, having to live
by double standards and being judged by every single member of society. Tolstoy
writes it in such a way that we, readers, begin to judge Anna. This is crafted
deliberately to strike us closer to home and present to us the reality of
society, injustice and human nature.
The
books whose purpose it is to entertain will bring satisfaction, whether by the
means of allowing us to delve into a character’s life and letting us to live it
out alongside them for a while or whether it is by the means of building
mystery and conflict that is resolved in the end by a clever detective or a
couple counselling sessions.
The
books that involve the reader will leave the reader with hope. Period. Whether
it is Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment or
Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina or Shakespeare’s
Romeo and Juliet there is always an
aspect of hope hidden within. Sometimes it is as simple as the readers hoping
the protagonist or antagonist will get the resolutions they deserve. Sometimes
the text works more like a mirror and fills us with hope for ourselves, our
families, our worlds and our futures. And then there is Romeo and Juliet which seem to bring down the validness of at least
a third of my literary theory, because many will argue that tragedy does not
give them hope. Yet, try to remember what you felt while reading the play and
what emotions filled when you read the last act. It certainly was not all
clear, light and sunlit, yet the Capulets and Montagues made up, century feuds
were resolved and new opportunities were before those that learned from the
mistakes of others. I believe that despite the sad ending for the two main
protagonists, if I may rephrase the words of one wise man, “Hope can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers
to turn to the light” (any guesses who said this?).
These
three components: lesson, satisfaction and hope, will, admittedly, exist in
different proportions in different texts and these proportions will deviate
from those in other works based on the purpose the author places in his work.
When a novel, or a poem, possesses one of these characteristics
disproportionally or solely, I believe it still has a right to existence in the
literary universe. I believe that detective novels, science fiction and Harry
Potter have the right to be christened literature. Some will argue that these
types of texts do not really involve the reader, while others will argue that
these text are not education or just plain shallow. My response is this. Some
texts are like medicine. If we are to explore this analogy we must agree that the
components of a certain prescription are much more concentrated in the bottle you
hold, than in other of its manifestations. It is because this prescription,
much like Harry Potter has a definite purpose and the disproportional
components are to contribute to that purpose. This purpose is as noble, as the
next because one way or the other it does cure the reader (or patient) of
something. However, we must remember that medicine is prescribed to people with
certain conditions and while it is necessary at certain times, overdosing on it
often causes as much, or even more harm, than not taking it at all. Therefore, I must conclude that the most
powerful work of literature will involve a lesson, entertainment and hope, yet
those works that focus on only one aspect at a time are still necessary
components of the literary spectrum.
Earlier
this year I disclosed my delight with Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I believe that I got so much contentment and
joy while reading this book because it fit perfectly into my literary theory.
Firstly,
as readers we witness Elizabeth’s journey from a proud and prejudiced girl to a
humble and gracious woman. The lessons she learns are there
to teach us and Elizabeth to act as our guide.
Secondly,
the country setting, the family dynamics and the time period plunge us into the
story, while the ending concludes Elizabeth’s journey and our adventure. As
readers we cannot stay impartial or aloof. We become Elizabeth’s companions on her trips and we are her entourage at every ball.
And
lastly, observing the evolution of the main character and her relationships, witnessing
the timeless values lived out and seeing everyone get the ending they deserve
fills us, readers, with hope for ourselves, our lives and the society we live
in.
Having
reached back to Plato, Horace, Plotinus and Boccaccio in class and in my free
readings allowed me to recognize the building blocks of my worldview and comprehend
the reasons for my partiality to fairytales. I now understand what prompts me
to flip through pages and look for pictures, or read the last sentence of the
novel before reading the first or thirst for mystery in the works of literature
I expose myself to. It is because I need to be taught. I want to be entertained
and my curiosity needs to be satisfied. I want to find a ray of sunshine in the
literature I read that could illuminate to me my life and the lives of those
around me. I yearn for hope. I strive to see the best in people, while seeing
the world around me the way it is. I want to be involved in a conversation and
put “my oar in”. I want to be a reader. I want to be a writer. I want to be a
hoper and make others hope for the best too.
