To study English Literature is to be affront to it. More and more, I despise it, ever since those fateful days I closed that exam booklet having written for three hours.
Such a bold statement, so why do I say it? Well, studying something produced for art docks it of the entertainment, of the pleasure. Study is not the appreciation of something; I can appreciate a mars bar without having to analyse the production methods and ingredients.
Do books get better the second time you read them? You might assume that because of the sheer complexity of Othello, it warrants picking apart the speeches and poetry, but this furthers a myth that the deeper something is, the better.
What about immediate inclination? Read Vonnegut, he is easy. He is not hard to understand, but hard to stomach. He breaks every rule for writing fiction there is, and he tells you he does. There is immediate gratification by reading a book like Slaughterhouse Five. And there is very little hidden within that book, but it's still one of the most enjoyable books you can read, while still dealing with serious and profound concepts.
So, why must it be studied? Surley, by analysing it, you are breaking a sacrement between the author, the book and yourself. Don't turn something enjoyable and personal into something to be contaminated by others.
But if you must study art, so it goes.
S/Cooke
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