Sunday, October 3, 2010

What is the relation between literature and society?

Hester Prinn's adultery shocked early America in this Nathaniel Hawthorne work. Adultery was extremely taboo, and he wrote about the shunning that would have happened. No one would have made this poor woman wear a great big letter A, but it would have seemed like it.

The effect literature has had on society is just as important. Tartuffe, by Moliere is a good example. Moliere wrote this hilarious play about court politics in 1664. It is cunningly written, but it is a farce, and has the entire court and countryside laughing at the king of France. If the king had not had a real liking for Moliere, he would have lost his head over this play. (It helped, that the king laughed, too.).
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