Thè Islámįyàh Uñiversiťÿ ôf Bhawalpur

(IUB)
Name: M Màžhãŕ

Dêpãřťmèñť: Êñgłįšh

Submitted to: Ma’am Khalida

Topic : Function of literature

Literature reflects the various experiences, ideas, passions of human beings in their daily life
that express on several forms and styles of literary works. Since literature directly derives from
human life, it can increase our knowledge and experiences about human problems included
values, morals, cultures, and human interests.
After reading a literary work, the readers may get a certain impression of what he/she has read.

Literature as a product of human culture has its own functions. Literature has two functions. The
first is literature of power. Literature of power means that the function of literature as power is to
move the heart and mind of the readers. The second is literature of knowledge. Literature of
knowledge has function to teach. It means that literature gives particular values, messages, and
themes to the readers.

Literature has great function in developing human’s feelings, ideas, and interests. Generally, the
functions of literature are as follows: the first function is literature gives knowledge of those
particularities with which science and philosophy are not concerned. The second function is that
literature makes the human perceive what human see, imagine what human already know
conceptually or practically. The final function of literature is that literature relieve human—either
writers or readers—from the pressure of emotions.

Literature also functions to contribute values of human lives. In education program, literature
may give significant contribution for students’ development and knowledge. The contribution of
literature in education covers intrinsic values and extrinsic values. The intrinsic values are the
reward of a lifetime of wide reading recognizable in the truly literate person while the intrinsic
values facilitate the development of language skills and knowledge.

Many literary texts such as poem, song lyric, and short story are used in language teaching.
There are some factors of using literature in language teaching in terms of linguistic, cultural,
and personal growth. Linguistically, literary texts offer a range of genuine texts in a variety of
registers, styles, and text-types at many level of difficulty. Literary texts provide a very real
sense the vehicle for culture. The settings, characterizations, situations, and assumptions which
literary texts embody offer the students with manifold opportunities for raising awareness of
difference and for developing tolerance and understanding. Finally, literature provides affect and
emotion. When the students interact with a literary text, it usually involves a deeper level of
mental processing, a greater personal involvement and response. In this case, students also
learnt a lot about reading critically, emphatically, and creatively.

Therefore, because of its functions and contributions of literature in language teaching, literature
is used as an innovative technique of teaching and even some institutions of education design a
literature program and put the literature as compulsory subject.

Ten Important function of Literature

2. Literature is the art of written works. Published writings in a particular style on a particular subject
Any art form that uses language in either written or spoken form. Literature is often accompanied by
the other art forms (music, theater arts, film making etc) in varying degrees and combinations to suit
the preferences of a particular audience group.

3. What does literature do?

4. Known as “pleasure reading”. In this function, literature is used to entertain its readers. Literary
works are consumed for the sake of one’s enjoyment.

5. Literature shows how society works around them. Literature helps the reader “see” the social and
political constructs around him/her and shows the state of the people and the world around him/her.

6. Literature shapes our way of thinking based on the ideas of other people. Literature also displays
a person’s ideology placed in the text consciously and unconsciously.

7. Literature may impart moral values to its readers. The morals contained in a literary text, whether
good or bad, are absorbed by whoever reads it, thus helps in shaping their personality.
1. 8. Literature preserves the language of every civilization from where it originated. They are
also evidences that a certain civilization has existed by recording the language and
preserving it through wide spans of time.
2. 9. Literature orients us to the traditions, folklore and the arts of our ethnic group’s heritage.
Literature preserves entire cultures and creates an imprint of the people’s way of living for
others to read, hear, and learn.
3. 10. Literature teaches us of many things about the human experience. Literature is used to
portray the facets of life that we see, and those that we would never dream of seeing.
Literature, therefore, is a conduit for the chance to experience and feel things where we can
learn things about life.
4. 11. Ancient texts, illuminated scripts, stone tablets etc. keep a record of events that
happened in the place where they originate. Thus they serve as time capsules of letters that
is studied by scholars and researchers of today.