Letters to the Editor
View(s):The importance of teaching literature
Literature trains the mind and the heart in ways no other subject can. It sharpens language skills, cultivates clarity in expression and teaches the art of persuasion through words. A student who engages with literature learns to read with discernment, to write with elegance and to think critically. In contrast, one who ignores literature may still acquire technical knowledge but often without the subtlety, creativity and depth of thought required to use that knowledge wisely.
Furthermore, literature connects students to culture, history and human experience. It teaches them that the past is not simply a series of dates and facts, but living experiences of people who struggled, loved, dreamed and endured. It nurtures empathy by allowing the reader to live many lives beyond their own, broadening perspective and building compassion. Those who are denied this opportunity risk seeing the world only through the narrow lens of personal experience.
Equally important, once a student develops a genuine enthusiasm for literature, it sparks a lifelong thirst for reading, discovery and independent thought. Literature becomes a gateway to wider fields of knowledge: history, geography, philosophy and the human sciences. It encourages questioning, creativity, and the ability to think “outside the box.” Above all, it instills tolerance and understanding, qualities urgently needed in today’s divided world.
The difference between an individual shaped by literature and one untouched by it is profound. The former carries with them not only knowledge, but also wisdom; not only skills, but also values; not only ambition, but also compassion. Without literature, education risks becoming one-dimensional – producing efficient workers, but not thoughtful human beings.
For these reasons, the teaching of English Literature in the curriculum must never be treated as optional or dispensable. It is, in fact, one of the most powerful instruments of education, for it ensures that students grow not only into competent professionals, but into cultured, imaginative and empathetic members of society.
Lanka Chandani Ranatunge Via email
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