Impulses Behind Literature II Four Major Impulses II What is Literature? II W. H. Hudson & Mammat

We read literature for our own entertainment. But why does an author write literature? What are the things that spur or urge the authors to write literature? Literature grows directly out of life, so it is obvious that in life itself we have to search for its sources. Hudson has discussed four impulses behind literature in the chapter ‘Some Ways of Studying Literature’ in his book ‘An Introduction to the Study of Literature’. Aacharya Mammat, a Sanskrit scholar and critic (11th century) has also discussed six impulses behind literature in ‘Kavya Prakash’.

AACHARYA MAMMAT – KAVYA PRAKASH:

Aacharya Mammat has discussed the impulses behind poetry as under:

काव्यंयशसेऽर्थकृतेव्यवहारविदेशिवेतरक्षतये।

सद्यःपरिनिर्वृत्तयेकान्तासम्मिततयोपदेशयुजे।।

अर्थात्काव्ययश के लिए, अर्थप्राप्ति के लिए, व्यवहारज्ञान के लिए, अमंगलशान्ति के लिए, अलौकिक आनन्दकी प्राप्ति के लिए और कान्ताके समान मधुरउपदेश प्राप्तिके लिए प्रयोजनीय होते है।

मम्मटने मूलतः छः काव्य प्रयोजन बताए हैं I

1. यश प्राप्ति,

2. अर्थ प्राप्ति,

3. लोकव्यवहार ज्ञान,

4. अनिष्टका निवारण या लोकमंगल,

5. आत्म शान्ति या आनन्दोपलब्धि,

6. कान्ता सम्मित उपदेश।

W. H. HUDSON – AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF LITERATURE:

The four impulses that Hudson talks about are:

1. Our Desire for Self-expression:

Hudson says that, “We are strongly impelled to reveal to others what we think and feel.” All of us have a natural desire to express ourselves. We always want to open our heart to others. We wish to express our feelings and thoughts to others. This desire for self-expression results into the production of literature. A piece of literature is expression of writer’s mind and heart, his emotions and ideas. Thus, our desire for self-expression is the first and primary impulse that gives birth to literature.

2.  Our Interest in People and Their Doings:

Hudson says, “We are intensely interested in men and women, their lives, motives, passions, relationships”. Our interest in the lives of other people and their doing gives birth to literature. As human beings we cannot live quite aloof from others. We always like to know about other people, their thoughts, their feelings, their problems, and, their resistance to certain problems, their achievements and limitations, and, their success and failure. In order to know other people, their thoughts, the ways of their life, their customs and lives, we read or write literature.    

3. Our Interest in World of Reality and Imagination:

The two reasons that stimulate the production of literature are: man’s interest in the world of reality and man’s escape from the world of reality to the world of imagination. As a man, we are always interested in what is going on around us, what is happening around us. As men of thoughts also we are eager to know the things around us, the realities of the world.  Our interest in this world of realities results into the production of literature.

Many a times, man is fed up with the world of realities. He wants to escape into the world of imagination where he experiences mental bliss. Man creates his own world, the world of imagination and lives a peaceful life away from the world of bitter realities. The world of fantasy and fancy makes our life better than real world. This also results into the production of literature. The world’s great literatures are the mix product of world of realities and imagination.

4.  Our Love for Form as Form:

Hudson believes, “We take special satisfaction in the mere shaping of expression into forms of beauty.” Man, by his nature, is unable to keep his experience, observations, emotions, ideas, fancies, to himself, but he is on the contrary under the stress of constant desire of expressing these to other and for that he chooses various channels of expression. Man is also fond of particular form of literature. And many a times, his love for particular form results in the production of literature.

CONCLUSION:

In short, we can say that these four impulses give birth to literature. It is natural that all these impulses merge together in a good literary work, when we try to express ourselves.

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