English Literature Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

English Literature - Essay Example ‘Browsing’ no longer connotes rifling through the pages of a book, but the surfing of the net. The very word ‘reading’ is no longer confined to print, but to the perusal of text on the monitor of a computer. Everything, from dictionaries to atlases, has been usurped by the net. After all, who wants an atlas, when one can have ‘Google Earth?’ When books themselves seem well on the way to surviving only as bound exhibits in museums, or fashion statements on coffee tables, does the study of Literature remain relevant today? However, anyone who has curled up on a sofa with a detective yarn, sighed over a tale of unrequited love, or laughed out loud over the antics of a comic hero, can shrug aside such cynicism. Anyone who has ever experienced the magic of books can hold fast to the certainty that Literature will always remain an integral part of a cultured, fulfilled human life. Literature is the expression of the highest human thought. Yes, scientific knowledge exhibits mans’ intellectual achievement and its’ manifestation in the mastery of the physical world. But, it is Literature which satisfies the soul, along with music and art. After all, it is this striving for more than the mere satisfaction of basic physical needs which distinguishes man from the animals. The beauty of the written word transcends that of Nature, and it is Literature which gives expression to this beauty. Life is shaped by Literature. From Aesop’s fable of The Fox and the Grapes to the nursery rhyme of The Little Engine Which Could, from the adventures of the Hardy Boys to tales of Sinbad the Sailor, from Greek and Indian mythology to Shakespeare and Steinbeck, Literature gives expression to the lessons learnt from the past and serves as a guide to the future. It is Literature which showcases the strongest and purest of human emotions,