MORALITY AND AESTHETICS IN ENGLISH LITERATURE

Abstract

The value of literature lies in the fact that it is an interpretation of life. A great writer is one who interprets life greatly; one who is exquisitely responsive to the most subtle impressions of the outside world. He sees things far more clearly, and he feels them far more deeply, than do men of ordinary stock, and he endeavors to convey this heightened sense of the wonder and glory of the world to our duller and grosser perceptions.Almost all writers attempt, in their literary works, to concentrate on two important aspects, namely the moral and the aesthetic. This paper, therefore, posits that literary works by different writers, such as Shakespeare, Wordsworth, Matthew Arnold, Samuel Johnson, Sidney, George Herbert, etc… show, in their works, the protagonist’s pursuit for true morality. The paper consists of an introduction and three chapters; the first chapter deals with poetry, the second with prose, the third with drama and a conclusion which sums up the findings of the study.

Keywords

MORALITY, AESTHETICS