Literature Is Dead

– Negative Essay, Research Paper

WARNING: This is a Speech!

Please feel free to use this as you choose if the opportunity arises.

Ladies and Gentlemen: What person in their right mind could even reflect on literature as being dead? Certainly not I! Could you imagine a world without books, or plays? Could you imagine a world without words, knowledge or religion? I truthfully can?t! Nor should you!

So you see, I have already won my argument. But, it would be wrong of me not to justify my words. Literature is everywhere. Look around; do you see posters, grafiite or scripture? If so, this just demonstrates that literature is not dead, but rather, re-inventing itself in forms more common to people, in this, the new millennium.

Everything you see in this world is in some way or form, a type of literature, from the billboards on freeways to text messages you receive on your phone. Whether or not this is famous or well known is beside the point, as literature is simply; a body of writing from a culture or period, in this case, a text message; ?G?day how ya goin??? is a perfect example of Australian slang in the year 2001.

At this stage of my speech ladies and gentlemen, I don?t believe there would be one person standing among us, who could honestly say they still believe that literature is dead. But, if there is, I shall prove my point beyond reasonable doubt.

?Literature Is Dead?, one must appreciate ignorance in order to appreciate the affirmative side of this argument, don?t you agree? I mean, where would the world be without literature? Can you honestly say you know? I look around the audience today and see many different people, who in some way follow a religion, whether you are; Jewish, Muslim, Christian or Catholic, in some way or form you worship a religious scripture. For most, this is the bible, or Koran, so to deny these of being types of literature would be both ignorant and hypocritical. After all contradiction is the highest form of ignorance.

Members of the audience, you must have realised by now that literature cannot be dead, if it were, why would our school system emphasise the importance of it in the senior years. Do you really think the department of education would waste its, and all the teacher?s time by making students analyse Shakespeare, if it felt literature was dead, or that nothing can be learnt from it? I don?t think so.

Ladies and Gentlemen, all I?m trying to do is make you perceive a world without literature, you may think this is easy, but really consider it. If you read books, you cant agree that literature is dead, if you are religious you can?t agree that literature is dead, in fact I undoubtedly believe, no can agree with the affirmative side of this argument.

I thank you all for listening, and hope you walk out of this room with a new perspective on your surrounding, I will now leave you with an exert out of Shakespeare?s Hamlet. Proof that literature is mans greatest tool of expression.

“What a piece of work is man! how noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form and moving how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust? man delights not me, nor woman neither;”.