The word Literature is the union of two Latin words, littera and dura, in other words, the word that lasts. How can we help students to understand the use of literature? Why do we need to study literature? What is its purpose of literature? Why do we need to read?
Here is a shortlist of ideas to help you understand why literature is important:
Escape - Literature allows us to escape from reality, it allows us an escape from the world around us and from all the worries that are part of our daily lives. Good literature allows us to disconnect from the real world for a while.
Reality - Literature makes it possible for us to get to know the world better when explained from an objective point of view.
Knowledge - Literature serves as a form of transferring knowledge. Through literary works, we can learn things that everyday life cannot teach us.
Fantasy and imagination - Literature is one of the best ways to enhance imagination, fantasy and I would dare to say daydreaming.
Leisure - Reading, and therefore literature, also has a playful character. It is an excellent form of entertainment, an entertainment which has the great advantage of being an individual activity that is not dependent on others.
Time travel - Literature not only allows us to escape from our most immediate reality, but it can also transport us to past and future times. Thanks to literature, we are able to travel back to distant times or teleport ourselves into a time machine to an unexplored future.
Space travel - Literature can not only be used to travel through time, but it can also transport us to Outerspace.
Expansion of vocabulary - It has been shown that the reader of literary works has a large and varied vocabulary and knows the precise word for each concept, idea, feeling.
Reading speed - Those who enjoy reading literature acquire over time a reading speed that will allow them to be much more productive when performing other related tasks, for example, studies. Reading speed also improves the comprehension of texts.
Improved spelling - Literature has many benefits for readers, and it is a great way to improve your spelling. It has been shown that good readers tend to make fewer spelling mistakes as reading improves what is called visual spelling.
The importance of literature goes far beyond purely academic aspects, literature trains us as individuals and makes us grow as people.
Reading in general, and reading literary works in particular, is one of the most effective activities for the development of our personality, through knowledge of the world around us and ourselves.