لخّصلي

Universality in Literature: Literature is great because of its universality. It is powerful enough to supersede the narrow interests of a class in favour of humanity as a whole. It does not deal with the specifń: society of a specific community, but with the society of man as a whole. For this reason, the literature that appealed to the people through the spoken word has a greater appeal than that which appeals through the written word-which may not reach all men. "The recited epics of Homer, the acted plays of Shakespeare, the chanted songs of Chandidas have a more universal appeal than our modern poets and novelists who express only segments of social life and direct their appeal to particular social classes. Poetry that expresses intensely individual standpoints, novels that depict the manners of a class or community, and deal with highly specialised problems cannot surely, be of the same level as are Tulsidas's or Krittidas's Ramayana which had and still have a mass appzal."

Universality in literature connotes the appeal to the widest human interests and the simp- lest human emotions Though we speak of national and race literatures, like the Greek or Teuto- nic, and though cách has certain superficial marks arising out of the peculiarities of its own people, it is nevertheless true that good literature knows no nationality, nor any bounds save those of humanity. It is occupied chiefly with elementary passions and emotions, love and hate, joy and sorrow, fear and faith-which are an essential part of our human nature; and the more it reflects these emotions, the more surely does it awaken a response in men of every race.

Every father must respond to the parable of the prodigal son: wherever men are heroic, they will acknowledge the mastery of Homer, wherever a man thinks on the strange phenomenon of evil in the world, he will find his own thoughts in the Book of Job in. whatever place, men love their children, their hearts must be stirred by the tragic sorrow of Oedipus and King Lear. All these are but shining examples of the law that only as a book or little song appeals to

universal human interest does it become permanant." The restricted appeal of modern litera ture resulted from the dependence of writers on the patronage of great men. Necessarily such writers had to produce work that would appeal to their patrons primarily. As a result, their range, became limited. But a compensation was offered by the delicacy and refinement of their

work... The contrast between these writers and the popular writers may be seen in the contrast between Chaucer and balladists. Chaucer is the perfect: artist: his insight into life is also. profound but he lacks the spontaneity, the range, the popular appeal..of the ballad-writers. "Such also is the difference between Bharatchandra of Bengal and the annonymous puels of the Mymensingh ballads. Modern writers depending on the patronage of an, educated and well-to-do public, have developed a flair for expressing feelings and situations that are subtle and complex in language that verges on the idiosyncratic. Wordsworth realised this when he made the revolutionary, statement that poetry should use the language of common speech, The more literature is freed from its tlass limitations and becomes the expression of the thoughts

and feelings of the common man, the community of working people, the more, it will tend to

conform to the Wordsworthian doctrine."..

It must be noted that Literature contains the universal and the particular which are

combind together. According to Aristotle, literature indicates the Universal element, je..

what is true for all times and ages and the particular fe. what is true of the men, events,

customs, culture, and manners of an age. To quote John Bailey: "It must be at once

individual life and universal. If Homer contained nothing but what was abstractedly or

universally true, he would be dull. He must have, as he has, many things which surprise,

amuse, even perhaps, disgust us who live in so different an age and country. He must have

things which are peculiar to the Greeks of his day, and even thing pecüliar to himself alone

among the Greeks. Without that, he would not have individuality or even nationality: and

without Individuality and nationality there is no life in literature.....But if he were only

Homer or only Greek, he would be something worse than dull; he would be daid for us.because there would be link between us; dead, because the life of poetry needs and universal element without which its lease of life is an s a very short onc. A poet cannot carry... himself and his own age and their idiosyncracies and peculiarities unless he the elixir of immortality which is universal truth." provides them with In other words, literature is manifestatior. of life as handled by the writer's personality. His distinctive imagination, his slant of outlook his feelings, and the character of his experience constitute the medium through which his of life is communicated to the reader. But his feelings and thoughts and fusion. of elements: extracted from the chaos of life have deeper and paramount significance for all. According to Murry, "the highest style is ...... with the minimum created thing.There is Aristotle said of the maximum of personality a concentration of peculiar he meant was that literature is whole effort of a sincere man is to build his personal impression into universal pattern.