Learning To Love Literature

Many people say they`re not into literature and reading, I say that`s because they haven`t found what they`re looking for. I believe there are five reasons to love literature and you only need to like one of them in order to open up the entire world of literature to your appreciation.

1. Imagery : it`s a word banded around by teachers of all years, the most common question for any English student : "what imagery does this word or phrase suggest?" As far as I`m concerned that question is secondary to initial, more important questions : "how do I (the student) respond to the imagery? Is it just what it says on the tin? Am I reminded of anything in particular? Do I like the imagery?" Not everyone will like flowery imagery and others (like me) will love it, but there can be great appreciation for both. The following two are examples of different types of imagery that I find wonderful.

"Hercules was past all patience. He threw himself straight down, leaping through the flames where the smoke spouted thickest and the black cloud boiled in the vast cavern." - Virgil, The Aeneid

"And as the moon rose higher the inessential houses began to melt away until gradually I became aware of the old island here that flowered once for Dutch sailors` eyes - a fresh, green breast of the new world." - F. Scott. Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

2. Characterisation : if you're not that into a plot a character can really draw you in, I found this in The Tempest, a play I had studied for many years and not really been interested in. On my final year of studying I discovered that I really liked the character of Stephano far more for his faults than for the comedy he brought. Through this I explored the play in a different way and by the end of the year I really enjoyed the play with its magical plot and crazy characters.

3. Plot : the foundation of every classic is a timeless and engaging plot. Macbeth is perhaps the most popular Shakespeare play and its basic plot of murder and revenge has gripped countless generations and continues to entertain children from KS3 to A-Level despite the difficulties with Jacobean language.

4. Message : if you find that your initial reading of a text leaves you without much appreciation for the other three points perhaps there is still a reason to like that text. Especially with short texts, imagery or characterisation or even plot may not be entirely clear on a first reading, especially if you're studying the text and are just trying to get a first reading in. In this case you may be drawn to the book because of a message. For me this happened with An Inspector Calls, I found the characters impossible to relate to and the plot boring on occasion, but I was struck by the message: that all actions have consequence. This urged me to read it again and through this I began to like Inspector Goole and become more interested in the details of the plot.

5. Hang on, that links to that other book! : Perhaps pretty broad and more of a consequence of finding appreciation of literature, I have found a ripple like effect to an initial interest in one text. During my A-Level years I studied two literature based subjects : English Literature and Classical Civilisation, by the end I LOVED all of my texts (all 15+) because I found that they linked together so well. From The Picture of Dorian Gray to Euripides' Medea I became interested in them all because of what they taught me about each other. Extra reading is vital to all English courses and can really create interest where before there was very little.