Analysis of Thomas Dequiency’s Literature:

While History is the exact record of facts, literature is the record of the creative forces present throughout various ages in different societies. Literature is valued on a higher scale than history  because history has nothing to with creation, while literature depicts the evolution of human thought, of human intelligence itself.

Most people suffer from the common delusion in believing that everything that is contained in books is literature. This is not so. Not all of which is contained in books is literature nor is all that not contained in books not literature. There are forms of literature which are not contained in books. For example the spoken word; many sermons, preaching which have gone by unrecorded. Another example is the acted word; drama is a major par t of literature but much of primitive drama has been lost.

Literature according to Dequiency can be divided into two distinct bases – the literature of knowledge and the literature of power. It is so divided due to the different set of views each imparts unto the reader. The literature of knowledge is like the sail while the literature of power is like the rudder.

 The difference between the literature of power and that of knowledge can be aptly shown with the help of an example none other than John Milton’s “Paradise Lost”. It represents the literature of power while a cookery book represents the literature of knowledge. When one reads Paradise Lost, one is immediately drawn into the psychology of man, the paradoxical and ambiguous nature of the human mind. One receives an insight into human behavior, the turmoil of man’s life. While on the other no such information is received while reading  a cookery book.  

A reason why works of knowledge are not held in high esteem is due to the fact that knowledge is constantly upgraded. Each year, each month, each week there are new discoveries, new inventions which a;; surmount to knowledge. While works of power such as Shakespeare’s plays live on because they cannot be improved upon as it would be considered plagiarism. How many of us can remember the author or our history, science or math books that  we studied in school, while on the other hand we can easily remember at least one author of our literature books. It is said that the literature of knowledge takes us further on a horizontal path whereas the literature of power speeds one into a vertical ascent.

Literature on a whole is an integral part of our existence. It is a personal record of our ancestors, their thoughts, their interactions with their environment and flights of fantasy.