Some Practical Aspects of Literature by Barry Richins.

Back when I was younger and attending the community college in my hometown I met Barry Richins, a professor of World Literature. Barry and I had acted together in the plays the college put on, I also took a World Lit class from him.

Barry was well travelled, well versed, and great to be around. Before I left my hometown, I asked Barry for a copy of some of the things he discussed in his World Lit class.

What follows is the first part of an essay he gave me titled “Some Practical Aspects of Literature” and my analysis of it.

Literature is the study of imagination, and its study should improve the language of imagination.

Criticism is the activity of uniting literature with society.

Rhetoric is the social or public use of words.

In ordinary life, as in literature, the way you say things can be as important as what’s said, because society attaches an immense importance of saying the right thing at the right time. In society’s eyes the virtue of saying the right thing at the right time is more important than the virtue of telling the whole truth, or sometimes even telling the truth at all.

The fundamental job of imagination in ordinary life is to produce out of this society that we live in a vision of the society we want to live in.

“Imagery” is different than “imagination”. Imagery is illusion while imagination is vision

The first thing we have to do after we learn to read and write is to use our imagination to protect us from falling into the illusions society threatens us with; Ivory tower – long hair – regimentation - togetherness – moral majority – etc.

Direct and forceful language always has some force behind it, but the writers of gobbledygook don’t want to be forceful; they want to be soothing and reassuring.

Barry Richins contends that a student of literature needs to be skeptical, willing to question any values; and courageous, willing to examine any values so as to be able to accept, reject, or postpone judgement on them.

We must be careful when we speak because most of our speech is pure reflex, meaning it has not been carefully thought out. Blake said, “We become what we behold.” I think we are what we speak.

Freedom is the result of training. Free speech is not a gift, it has to be learned and worked at.

You cannot cultivate speech unless you have something to say, and the basis of what you have to say is your vision of society.

The world we live in and the world we want to live in are so different that a desire to see the second become more real is one reason we need to have a positive, working imagination.

Our dream world only has reality to the extent we are willing to contribute reality to it – a conscious art of giving.

The ideal world we envision can only come from something suggested in our education, We live in both a social and cultural environment, the world we study in arts and sciences, can provide the kind of standards and values we need if we’re to do anything better than adjust.

The act of stereotyping shows us that there is something in us all that wants to drift toward a mob, where we can all say the same thing without having to think about it, because everybody is alike except people that we hate or persecute. Every time we use words, we’re either fighting against this tendency or giving into it. When we fight against it we’re taking the side of genuine and permanent human civilization.

Literature is the art of words, the laboratory where myths themselves are studied and experimented with.

Literature, in all its forms, is the language of our imagination. Which is why I think reading is, and always will be, so vital to humanity. It’s also why I hate that literature, in any form, is looked down on.

Lack of imagination will be the downfall of society as a whole. Alvin Toffler said. “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” Literature helps us learn who we are, the mistakes we can make, and teaches us about the courage we have. If we aren’t reading, if we are not teachable, we are lost.

In literature, more often than not, we have the luxury of seeing most sides of the story from the perspective of an outsider. We can use our critical thinking skills to accept, reject, or postpone judgement on the perspectives presented.

Rhetoric gets a bad rap, and it isn’t deserved for the most part. Rhetoric is the way we persuade others. In some ways, it is “saying the right thing at the right time” even when the truth is the opposite. That being said. Rhetoric is just a fancy word for targeted communication and, if you’re not ready for it, it’s a way your opinion might be swayed.

“Isn’t that what literature is?” you may ask. “Just targeted writing?”

It’s a good question.

This is why Mr. Richins highlights critical thinking skills in this treatise. “A student of literature needs to be skeptical, willing to question any values; and courageous, willing to examine any values so as to be able to accept, reject, or postpone judgement on them.” Those skills enable one to not to take anything at face value.

Let’s look at the definitions of both rhetoric and literature. Both according to the treatise by Barry Richins and the Merriam Webster Dictionary and we’ll see what we can distill.

Rhetoric, according to Mr. Richins, is the social or public use of words.

According to Merriam Webster Rhetoric is the following.

• The art of speaking or writing effectively. For example:
  • the study of principles and rules of composition formulated by critics of ancient times
  • the study of writing or speaking as a means of communication or persuasion
• skill in the effective use of speech
  • a type or mode of language or speech
  • also : insincere or grandiloquent language

You can see, while rhetoric is definable as a type of persuasive writing, Mr. Richins is concerned with it as a mode of speaking. While Mr. Richins does not spend as much time with rhetoric as he does literature, (he was an English teacher who specialized in literature after all), he does have a few things to say about what people have to say, how we speak, and the words we choose.

According to Mr. Richins, “Direct and forceful language always has some force behind it, but the writers of gobbledygook don’t want to be forceful; they want to be soothing and reassuring.” Which I find to be true. The truth will always be direct and it will arrive without apology. That being said, truth won’t always be the metaphorical slap to the face. It will, however, need no concealment.

Literature, according to Mr. Richins, is the study of imagination. It is the art of words, the laboratory where myths themselves are studied and experimented with.

According to Merriam Webster Literature is the following.

• writings in prose or verse especially : writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest
  • the body of writings on a particular subjects
  • the body of written works produced in a particular language, country, or age
  • printed matter (such as leaflets or circulars)
• the production of literary work especially as an occupation.

Mr. Richins’ definition is metaphorical. Merriam Webster’s is practical. Both of them coincide. Literature refers to writings in prose or verse. It is also what one does to study imagination. Literature has a form of excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest. It is the art of words, the laboratory where myths are studied and experimented with.

There is a quote I found that ties into Mr. Richins’ and the Webster’s dictionary definition nicely.

“Literature stands related to man as science stands to nature.”

J. H. Newman.

As we need the sciences to study, to understand aspects of our world; we need literature, in all its genres and excellence of form and expression, to know ourselves.