Literary Sense and MA English Literature (Annual System)

Literary sense is as vast as the literature itself. It's the ability to scan through the lines. It's the understanding of our world from an objective perspective. It's a roadmap to lead a peaceful but a purposeful life. It's the process of painting our surroundings as they are, in either pleasant or the unpleasant ways. It's difficult to attain and it requires time and energy from a person's self.

MA English Literature from Annual System or BS English Literature from Semester System are gateways to enter into the unfathomable realm of literature but we, the students are not doing justice here. I have not been a part of semester system so I cannot provide my comments but on annual system, I shall scrutinize it the best I can.

MA English Literature from Annual System is renowned for the painful effort it requires to attain the basics of understanding literature. Almost fifty to sixty books are a part of the flight. In the past, it was much difficult for private candidates to complete their degree. But with the boom of internet and other resources like Current Notes, doing MA English from universities like Sargodha University has become much easier. But with the cost of a mind boggling side effect.

The reliance on handbooks like Current Notes has almost killed the development of literary sense among the youth of our time. It is a sad reality that most of the aspirants only know about how to cram a selective range of topics provided inside the Current Notes and in past papers. But they have no idea about objective perspectives. Therefore, private candidates, no matter how successful they are, cannot withstand the debate if something goes against their beliefs. They surely have attained the degree but it is worth less than a piece of paper if they cannot do away with their dogmatism.

I am not against the use of notes in preparation for the exams. I am against the complete reliance on ready made notes that is nothing but an inferior version of spoon feeding. In order to understand literature, you shall have to go through its text and critical studies. You shall have to quest for the reasons a work was written for and what compelled a writer to write a particular piece of work. You shall have to make yourself acquainted with mythology, philosophy and history associated with a certain literary genius you are currently reading.

I know that it's difficult to begin studying thoroughly especially in the midst of examination (that is only one month away). But you can begin your literary endeavour after the examination.

But you may ask, why bother so much about literature? One thing I want to clear is that being a student of literature, your main goal is not about acquiring a degree. Your goal is to attain a balance in your reaction, behaviour and public dealing. Why MA English Literature is a significant milestone in the pursuit of CSS? You may answer the improvement of English. Wrong! MA English Literature is an important step in CSS because of the objective flexibility that helps in decision making. A bureaucrat makes decision on the bases of democratic interests that he hopes shall benefit his country and himself. His decision making is controlled by reason and critical analysis of a given situation. That is definitely an outcome of the development influenced by the literary sense.

One of the best ways to acquire the basic literary sense is to take admission in a college or university that has a strong reputation of literary growth. But institution alone cannot help you in this regard. You shall have to be in the studentship of a person(s) who understands the ABC of literature and who knows how to relate literature with our own everyday experience. For instance, in Mianwali the city, Government Graduate College is the best place to kickstart your basic literary sense with the help of competent and able teachers while University of Mianwali (Prev. UOS Sub Campus Mianwali) is a serious contender as an institution of the development of literary sense in the space of Semester System. You can ask about your place from the people who have acquired a degree as a regular student.

Last essential element in the development of literary sense is contribution. You don't learn until you contribute practically. In literature, you can contribute in the form of novel, poetry and even literary essays that may provide solutions to the prevailing problems of the present time. The contribution helps you get noticed and is necessary for you to guage your performance and competition.

You don't have to be a student of MA/BS English Literature to be eligible to acquire literary sense. If you are an avid book reader and if you are a part of different book reading groups to discuss your readings, you can easily excel the ones who are the students of literature. To be honest, I am a part of many literary communities geared towards book reading and discussions and I have to acknowledge, their discussion is so diversified that a fresh graduate like me feels it quite hard to keep up with their discussions.

Conclusively speaking, Literary Sense broadens the way you see life and people. You think out of the box. You get exciting opportunities to rise. MA/BS English Literature is a golden key to unlock the hidden treasures of literature. Don't spoil it through Current Notes or even my own notes. Keep reading - keep exploring - keep contributing. You will find your world anew!

And yes, MA/BS English Literature is not about brushing up your grammatical skills!