The Function of Literature

Paper Summary:

This paper examines how literature allows us access to the wisdom of those who have come before us, learned the hard lessons of life, and written down their observations so that we might learn vicariously and gain in wisdom without having to make the same mistakes that others have made. It uses, as an example, William Shakespeare's play, "Othello", which helps us to understand how completely people can deceive themselves and how difficult it may be to determine whether a person is, in fact, good or evil. It also shows how Theodore Roethke's poem, "The Waking", addresses a sense of the divine and of the mystical that many of us do not feel for ourselves.

From the Paper:

"Othello's sense of honor is his most defining attribute, and while it may be tempting to see this sense of honor as undermined by the passion he feels for Desdemona (and even more by the passion he feels when he imagines that he has betrayed her) he is more undone by honor than by passion. Othello cannot imagine that others will not act honorably since he himself would never do so. He is blind to the possibility of dishonorable action. This failure of imagination of Othello can be contrasted to Iago's own failings, which are quite different. Iago may despise goodness (which is certainly a moral failing) but he recognizes and understands it in others. Othello cannot see evil, which is a terrible sort of weakness indeed."

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