Thursday, December 2, 2010

Literature

Currently in one of my English classes, we are studying Romantic poetry. I enjoy poerty greatly, it is one of the few things I can analyze very well. In our study, though, we spent a little time on discussing the connotation of "Romantic" today.

In our modern society, we see Romantic to man a few, very wrong, things. The most popular is something relation to love or lust. You go on a date, the boy brings you flowers, there's your romance. You woo someone with candy, how romantic. Wrong. Second, we associate it with someone who is foolishly hopeful. "She's got this romantic notion that they will win this ball game." Or, maybe, just someone who aspires for a greatness they will likely never achieve. I have a friend who desires to be president one day (that's Mr. President to you) and many think him "foolishly romantic" for it. The other way we percieve romance is through $.99 paper backs you can buy at the gas station. These raunchy novels, full of sex and lust, are the closest thing we have to understanding "Romantic Literature".

But really, Romantic literature is so much more than that. It does more than these cheap paperbacks do. It aspired to change something. They desired to change the world they lived in, from the poor inner city living conditions to the overthrowing of the monarchies of the time. They imagined a new world, one with a free spirit and a happy population, and wrote about it. They didn't use their logic to make people see the errors of their way. They used their imagination to smile and see the world as it should be, not as it was. They weren't foolish, they weren't naive, they were just optimistic. They used what they had to change the world.

In the end, that is what literature is. It is someone, with a pen and paper, trying to change their society. From what they feel and what the imagine, they want to make a difference in the world around them.This is what literature, true literature, does. It changes things.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

oh goodness, i looooooove literature.

and i totally agree with you. the last paragraph of this post was amazing.

Unknown said...

oh, and p.s.-
i am so glad that you're back. i've really missed you.

xoxo

Sarah :) said...

Teetee!
I missed you too. :)