Literature and Society

Abstract

Literature, in its broadest sense, is any single body of written works. More restrictively, it is writing
considered as an art form or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to
deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage. What is society. A society is a group of
people involved in persistent social interaction, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical
or social territory, typically subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations.
A literary society is a group of people interested in literature. In the modern sense, this refers to a society
that wants to promote one genre of literature or a specific writer. Modern literary societies typically
promote research about their chosen author or genre, publish newsletters, and hold meetings where
research findings can be presented and discussed. Some are more academic and scholarly, while others
are more social groups of amateurs who appreciate a chance to discuss their favourite writer with other
hobbyists. Historically, literary society has also referred to salons such as those of Madame de
Stael, Madame Geoffrin and Madame de Tencin in pre-Revolutionary France, and student groups at
colleges and universities in the United States. That literature is a reflection of the society is a fact that has
been widely acknowledged. Literature indeed reflects the society, its good values and its ills. In its
corrective function, literature mirrors the ills of the society with a view to making the society realize its
mistakes and make amends. It also projects the virtues or good values in the society for people to emulate.
Literature, as an imitation of human action, often presents a picture of what people think, say and do in
the society. In literature, we find stories designed to portray human life and action through some
characters who, by their words, action and reaction, convey certain messages for the purpose of
education, information and entertainment. It is impossible to find a work of literature that excludes the
attitudes, morale and values of the society, since no writer has been brought up completely unexposed to
the world around him. What writers of literature do is to transport the real-life events in their society into
fiction and present it to the society as a mirror with which people can look at themselves and make
amends where necessary. Thus, literature is not only a reflection of the society but also serves as a
corrective mirror in which members of the society can look at themselves and find the need for positive
change. It is necessary to take a close look at some works of literature, in order to understand how
literature actually reflects the society.

Introduction

A literary man is as much a product of his society as his art is product of his own reaction to life. Even the
greatest of artists is sometimes a conscious, sometimes an unconscious exponent of his time-spirit. The
time-spirit is the total outcome, the quintessential accretion of all the political, social, religious and
scientific changes of a particular age. The historical aspect of literature therefore, minor or unimportant
though it may be for aesthetic purpose, cannot be totally ignored. Thus literature reflects his zeitgeist or
the Time-Spirit. No writer can escape influence of his age. Every man, according to Goethe‘s statement,
is the citizen of his age as well as of his country. Renan remarked: ―One belongs to one‘s century and
race, even when one reacts against one‘s century and race. Thus literature always expresses the thoughts
and sentiments of human mind which are closely connected with and conditioned by the age. The
influence of the age on the human mind is due to the fact that the latter is constantly influenced by the
spirit of the age and reacts to it vividly and vigorously. The reflection of the age depends on the quality of
the mind in which it is reflected. If a work of literature is to be judged by the quality of this reflection, it is
apparent that it depends on the quality and nature of the reflecting mind. Literature means something that
is written for refreshing and inspiring the mind. It records the thoughts and feelings of great minds. It
attracts in two ways—through its matter and through its manner. The matter must be such that those who
read it are interested in some way. The manner must be such as will be pleasing to the reader and adds to
his fund of knowledge.

Literature and society way to creating literature. In other words,

The literature of an age, and its social set up
keeping and reacting one over the other.
Literature influences the society; society is
reflected in Literature and in this way, in all
languages and at all times there has been a
close interaction between the two.
Literature of any age cannot escape the
influence of the social scene and therefore is
found reflecting the society of the age when
it is created.
The poet, the dramatist, the novelist, the
essayist are all the product of their age and
their-age openly and clearly gets imaged in
their compositions.
Literature means something that is written
for refreshing and inspiring the mind. It
records the thoughts and feelings of great
minds. It attracts in two ways—through its
matter and through its manner. The matter
must be such that those who read it are
interested in some way. The manner must be
such as will be pleasing to the reader and
adds to his fund of knowledge.
We live in a society. That is, there are
relations and interrelation between men who
live in the society. We like to hear about our
fellow men that live in society, their
thoughts and feelings, their likes and
dislikes.
Naturally, if we have the power of language
to express the feelings, we are well on the
the subject matter of literature is society in
some form or other. The poet expresses his
feeling and we who read his poetry are
interested and feel at one with him and
ourselves. After all, society is this bond of
fellowship between man and man through
communication that the poet or writer seeks.
If literature expresses social sympathies,
naturally it is bound to exercise some
positive influence on our mind and attitude.
Society reacts to literature in a living way.
An inspiring poem creates general influence
on society. It rouses our feelings and
enthusiasm for welfare.
Shelley has called poets the
unacknowledged legislators of mankind.
The function of a legislator is to lay down
the law, a settled course of action that men
may follow. Poetry and literature generally
do this in a quiet and unobtrusive way.
Novels are known to have changed the
direction of the human mind and set in
motion movements that have altered our
ways of life.
The influence of literature on society is felt
directly or indirectly. Thus Miss Stowe's
"Uncle Tom's Cabin' was directly
responsible for a movement against slavery
in literature and life in USA of those days.
The novels of Dickens had an indirect
influence in creating in society a feeling for
regulating and removing social wrongs,
calling for necessary reforms.
Sarat Chandra's novels have gone a long
way in breaking conservatism as regards
women in our society. It is, however, clear
that if we are interested in literature, and its
influence is bound to move us amply.
Literature is made out of the lore of life. No
doubt, the realistic artist brings to a focus
the oddities and cruder aspects of life
overmuch. But to know life fully, not only
the bright side but also the seamy and dark
side of life is to be known.
Thus, society creates literature. It may be
described as the mirror of the society. But
the quality and nature of the reflection
depends upon the writer's attitude of mind,
whether he is progressive in his outlook or
reactionary.
Naturally, conservative-minded writer will
stress those aspects of social life, which put
the traditional ways of life in the best
possible way. For example, he will set a
high value on reverence for age-old ideals,
respect for religion, chastity of woman and
so on. On the other hand, a progressive
writer will tend to show how old ideals act
as restraints on the natural freedom of the
human mind, cripple the free movement of
man and women in an unrestricted
atmosphere, set for liberating new ideals and
moving society that looks forward to newer
ways of life.
Relationship in Literature and society
We all know that literature mirrors society.
What happens in a society is reflected in
literary works in one form or another. The
literal meaning of literature is the art of
written work in different forms, such as,
poetry, plays, stories, prose, fiction, etc. It
may also consist of texts based on
information as well as imagination. A
society is a group of people related to each
other through their continuous and
uninterrupted relations. It is also a group of
likeminded people largely governed by their
own norms and values. Human society, it is
observed, is characterized by the patterns of
relationship between individuals who share
cultures, traditions, beliefs and values, etc. If
one looks at the history of society, one will
find that the nature of different societies has
gone through changes from the Paleolithic
period to the present age of Information
Technology. The people’s living style,
faiths, beliefs, cultures, etc., have never
remained uniformly consistent. With the
passage of time, owing to changes taking
place in environment and with emergence of
new technologies, we observe that the
societies have not remained stubborn with
regards to their norms and values, the
reflections of which can be found in
different forms of literature. Kalidas, a great
poet ever born in Indian history, is first
afraid of the uncertain attitude of the people,
but then pleads his own points of views that
provide us union of the old and the new. In
Malavikamitam, his first play, the poet
shows his humility and becomes uncertain
whether people would accept his play.
Therefore, in the beginning of the play, he
pleads, ―Every old poem is not good
because it is old; nor is every new poem to
be blamed because it is new; sound critics,
after critical examination, choose one or the
other, the blockade must have his judgment,
guided by the knowledge of his neighbors.

Importance of literature and society
Literature is the foundation of life. It places
an emphasis on many topics from human
tragedies to tales of the ever-popular search
for love. While it is physically written in
words, these words come alive in the
imagination of the mind, and its ability to
comprehend the complexity or simplicity of
the text. Literature enables people to see
through the lenses of others, and sometimes
even inanimate objects; therefore, it
becomes a looking glass into the world as
others view it. It is a journey that is
inscribed in pages, and powered by the
imagination of the reader. Ultimately,
literature has provided a gateway to teach
the reader about life experiences from even
the saddest stories to the most joyful ones
that will touch their hearts
From a very young age, many are exposed
to literature in the most stripped down form:
picture books and simple texts that are
mainly for the sole purpose of teaching the
alphabet etc. Although these are not nearly
as complex as an 800-page sci-fi novel, it is
the first step that many take towards the
literary world. Progressively, as people grow
older, they explore other genres of books,
ones that propel them towards curiosity of
the subject, and the overall book. Reading
and being given the keys to the literature
world prepares individuals from an early age
to discover the true importance of literature:
being able to comprehend and understand
situations from many perspectives.
Physically speaking, it is impossible to be
someone else. It is impossible to switch
bodies with another human being, and it is
impossible to completely understand the
complexity of their world. Literature, as an
alternative, is the closest thing the world has
to being able to understand another person
whole-heartedly. For stance, a novel about a
treacherous war, written in the perspective
of a soldier, allows the reader to envision
their memories, their pain, and their
emotions without actually being that person.
Consequently, literature can act as a time
machine, enabling individuals to go into a
specific time period of the story, into the
mind and soul of the protagonist.
With the ability to see the world with a pair
of fresh eyes, it triggers the reader to reflect
upon their own lives. Reading a material that
is relatable to the reader may teach them
morals and encourage them to practice good
judgment. This can be proven through
public school systems, where the books that
are emphasized the most tend to have a
moral-teaching purpose behind the story. An
example would be William Shakespeare’s
stories, where each one is meant to be
reflective of human nature – both the good
and bad. Consequently, this can promote
better judgment of situations, so the reader
does not find themselves in the same
circumstances as perhaps those in the fiction
world. Henceforth, literature is proven to not
only be reflective of life, but it can also be
used as a guide for the reader to follow and
practice good judgment form.
The world today is ever-changing. Never
before has life been so chaotic and
challenging for all. Life before literature was
practical and predictable, but in present day,
literature has expanded into countless
libraries and into the minds of many as the
gateway for comprehension and curiosity of
the human mind and the world around them.
Literature is of great importance and is
studied upon as it provides the ability to
connect human relationships, and define
what is right and what is wrong. Therefore,
words are alive more than ever before.
Relevance of Literature in society
The growth of human civilization is closely
related to the growth of literature.So,
naturally, human society is also related to
literature. The study of the relationship
between literature and human society always
claims our interest. This study establishes
the assumption that literature illuminates
past and present social reality and
anticipates future of society. In fact, in some
cases, diaries, journals, family letters, short
stories, novels become significant and
resourceful in the study of human society in
different phases. In any literary work, we
find the artist's relationship with his society.
The artist is an inhabitant of his society, so
his social life and manners are reflected in
his works.
Literature is a special type of art. Its main
content is human life. An artist of literature
paints the ease and sorrow, smile and cry,
joy and affliction and vivid longings and
prayers of mankind on the canvas of his
literary creation. Long lasting social effect
pulsates the vivacious spirit of literature.
Then how can the appeal l of literary works
of different regions and cultures be
universal? The view and lifestyle of the
inhabitants of one particular region may be
different from other regions. In this context
we must know one thing, in literature, there
is a basic difference between the truth and
the truth of life. Man has no limit of
incompletion in his domestic and social life.
Man’s satisfaction in his desires never
comes during his whole life. we can get the
reason of it from the great observation of
Rabindranath Tagore: What I want, that I
want by mistake; what I get ,that I don’t
want to get.Here,the conflict between man's
desire and what he gets in return is the real
tragedy of human life.
This tragic human experience of life is
universal. An artist blooms this tragedy with
the background of his society in the garden
of his literary works. In this way regional
literature attains universal appeal. In other
words, in this way, literature makes
communication between inhabitants of
different countries. Literature can make
unity in vividness.
Once man made the society. And by the
passing of time, that society starts to
influence the mind of man. Society-
conscious artists introduce the inner conflict
of man and woman. Social influences add
spirit in these conflicts.
Which literature is addicted to excessive
materialism ignoring the spirit of life that
can never be called an idol literature? Not
only society influences literature but also
literature influences society and drives it
into different paths. Literature keeps
imperishableness alive in human society. All
the high thikings, imaginations, researches,
present in literature, and serve the purpose
of giving an impression of contemporary
society to the successors.
Is Literature Is a Mirror of Society:-
In every part of the world, literature has
been more or less, mirror of society. At the
earliest stage, literature invariably takes the
form of poetry, while prose is a much later
creation, because prose develops with
matured age.
Poetry is out and out a product of
imagination, while prose is the fruit of
intellect. The earlier from of poetry is the
epic. In Italian, Greek, German, English or
Indian epic we can find a clear reflection of
the ancient social history of the countries.
Mark closely the contents of the Beowulf,
the Illiad, the Odyssey,
the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and you
will find in them a picture of the ancient life
and society of the countries concerned. Even
in the much later epics of England, Germany
or India, you can find a similar picture of
ways of life of the peoples or more recent
times of those countries. Of course, poetry
has more of the element of imagination than
of reality, and therefore, it is not likely to be
as much a faithful mirror of society as prose,
or even as the drama.
Next to poetry, the drama is another mirror
of society. The drama is partly a creation of
imagination and partly of real life. The
earlier dramas in every country are a more
faithful picture of society than the later
dramas, probably because the creator of
poetry or drama at an earlier state of human
history is far more imaginative than at the
later stages which are marked by the
production of prose literature such as the
story, the novel, the tale and other. Of
But the most realistic forms of literature are
the stories and the novels. The stories and
the novels which deal particularly with the
problem of social, economic and political
life of a country are bound to reflect
contemporary history, while those of other
which deal with psychological problems are
comparatively more imaginary and less real.
A few of the stories and novels deal
exclusively with historical themes, and such
works are essentially realistic and serve as
the correct picture of society. The novels of
course, the essay probably the only form of
prose literature which is the least faithful
mirror of society although some of the
essayists like Charles Lamb, Stevenson,
Charlyle, Huxley, Churchill and other more
modern writers of prose have reflected much
of their contemporary life in their works.
Biographies and histories are particularly
intended to serve as the mirror of society.
The plays of Marlowe, Ben Jonson,
Shakespeare, Goethe, Aeschylus, Plautus,
Seneca, Kalidas, Shaw and others are more
or less reflections of their own times and
peoples, although there is quite a good
element of imagination in every one of the
works. The drama is a tale of action put
upon the stage, and naturally, it must contain
some elements of real life. Leaving aside the
historical dramas, most of the other dramas
in every country throw considerable light
upon the social, political, moral and even
economic life of the time and the people.
The play of Shakuntala of our country or the
plays of Shaw are to a great extent a mirror
o the society of the ancient and modern
times of India and England.
Scott. Galsworthy, Bankim Chandra, Sarat
Chandra, Prem Chand, Chekov, Turginev,
Maupassant are of this type. Most of the
modern stories and novels of Russia and
India are realistic and they do reflect the
society of the times of their countries. The
stories and novels of America or France or
even of England have still in them a great
element of imagination, and therefore, they,
are the best mirror of society.
But if literature is always made to serve as
the mirror of society, will it not be a dull and
monotonous reading? As literature is mostly
intended to serve as an escape from life, it
should contain a great element of
imagination, because imagination is a great
manes of escape from the realities of life.
The function of literature being two-fold,
namely, to instruct as well as to recreate it
should contain both the elements of
imagination and reality. if literature
contained the element of reality, it would
have been extremely boring to the reader,
because very few of us would like to go to
the there or to the screen or even to read
such dramas, stories or novels which give us
vivid and correct picture of human life and
character. Nobody wants to see a repetition
of the same joys and sorrows, the same cares
and anxieties, the same smiles and tears, the
same problems of life, the same human
characters upon the stage or on the screen in
print that one comes across daily in one’s
life.
Primary Sources: - Famous authors, poets of history and contemporary period.
Conclusion:-
Everybody wants to live in a world of
imagination or fiction and not of reality,
because everybody in his daily round passes
though the same world, the same human
existence, and the same human nature or
character either in himself or in others.
Therefore, everybody wants some kind of
beautification or glorification of things
which one experience in one’s own life and
which are comparatively either ugly or
colorless. It is imagination that makes thing
colorful, while it is reality that makes thing
rather charmless and even unpleasant. So it
is the works of the imaginative writers that
provide food for recreation to the readers
because they allow the readers to have a
temporary escape from the realities of life;
while the works of realistic writers serve as
the mirror of society and contemporary life
and times.