Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 Vol. 6 No. 3; June 2015 Australian International Academic Centre, Australia The Decline of Literature: A Public Perspective Mohammed Albalawi Ministry of Education- Saudi Arabia E-mail: malbalaw@kent.edu Doi:10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.3p.88 Received: 15/01/2014 URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.7575/aiac.alls.v.6n.3p.88 Accepted: 23/03/2015 Abstract After centuries of dominance, literature has not been in a robust health for the last few decades. Several scholars have addressed the decline of literature in a number of books and articles attributing it to institutional and economic reasons. However, a major factor has not been taken into account. It is the larger audience who receives and absorbs literature. In this paper, I argue that the decline of literature emanates from the lack of appreciation of literature among the public who have deserted this field of humanity in the present days. I will investigate the causes of this desertion and explore its consequences in the field of literature. Through using a questionnaire, this paper looks and evaluates the experiences and perspectives of public. It is expected that the findings will contribute to literature to better understanding the decline. Keywords: Humanities-Literature Decline-Reading Literature 1. Introduction Literature’s decline and lack of power to persuade critics of its continued viability in the academic setting is a matter that remains under scrutiny. However, this paper argues that the decline of literature emanates not only from the problems that reside within the profession of literature itself, but also from the lack of appreciation and understanding of literature among the public who have abandoned this field of humanity presently. It examines the causes of this abandonment and explores its consequences not only on the field of literature. Furthermore, this paper explores the scholars’ investigations of the decline––or “death” as referred to by some scholars–– and its attribution to the institutionalization and compartmentalization of the profession. This paper involves the use of a questionnaire. Nevertheless, my goal is not to quantify or establish percentages; it is to broaden widely the range of possibilities out beyond my own reactions. The questionnaire has been thoroughly phrased to elicit the experiences and perspectives of the public. Therefore, this paper describes deliberately and quotes accordingly what the public consumers of literature have expressed and discusses their responses to the question: “why do you think most people do not read literature?” For the past few decades, numerous critics and scholars have lengthily studied the decline in humanities in general and literature in particular. At first, there was a tendency to use the statement “the death of literature” instead of “the decline of literature”. It was first used in the sixties to refer the lack of interest in literature. Although the word death was used in that era specifically to compare it intentionally to the statement “death of God” that was coined by the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, it still suggested in a stronger sense a sign of weakness and inefficiency in a field that had been influencing people’s lives for many centuries. In a book that carries the same notion, The Death of Literature, Alvin Kernan mentions some major factors that led to that “death”. He lists: the death of the author, the drastic change of scholars’ perspectives towards classic works or masterpieces, the independence of criticism from functioning as a servant of literature, the increase of television watchers at the expense of literature, and the attack of several radicals of literature––such as Terry Eagleton. 1 However, Kernan does not take into consideration the public––the vast consumers of literature outside the academic walls. But if literature has died, how can we explain the continuation of exposure to literature? People do still buy fiction works, read poems, attend literary conferences or symposiums, or basically absorb one kind of literary form or another. Literature, to some extent, is still being cherished commonly not only among literary scholars, but also among the considerable number of people who appreciate literature in this day and age. A valid evidence of this is the number of literary works being published every year. For example, over 100 million copies of Fifty Shades of Grey were sold in the world––and still being sold up to this moment. 2 Notwithstanding this promising news, this conviction disregards, to some degree, the dissension that exists amongst the larger audience in the literature arena who has, unfortunately, begun deserting this field of humanity. 2. Literature: Its Rise and Fall The word literature has been historically modified to carry different, yet interconnected meanings. At first, it was used to refer to poetry in all its kinds due to the stereotypical conception people had of valuing poetry and treasuring poets. Then, the meaning slightly changed to signify “polite letters”. Other meanings of “anything written” or “ all serious writing” emerged later attributing literature to a much broader sense. The modern use of the term to refer to all genres of literature was adopted in the later eighteenth century. Since then, literature has gone beyond referring to older works Flourishing Creativity & Literacy