Most of us who study literature are already committed to an answer to this question. What I am going to say is therefore more like recommending a way of life than arguing a case from first principles. We find ourselves studying literature because we love reading. Many of us can remember exactly how we were first excited by a story or poem, or perhaps (as I found in D. H. Lawrence) by a sense that novels could tell us more about adult life than the actual adults around us were prepared to divulge.
However it started, we grew fascinated by literature as a source of knowledge, self-knowledge, recreation and sheer delight. It has become a harmless addiction: we might not have known we needed it, but once we’re on it we want to find out more and more about it. I am sure that this pleasure and fascination are the best and most indispensable reasons for studying literature. A thoughtful student, however, is likely to be bothered by further questions. Is literature really knowledge? Does it matter in society? And how am I going to earn a living after studying it?
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