What is literature? Why do we spend our time reading literature? Why are people interested in reading fiction, drama and poetry? To begin with, one can say that literature could have a variety of uses depending on the readers 's expectation of literature. Some read literature just to take pleasure. This is called pleasure reading. Some may read literature to gain information about a particular community, or a particular era or a particular topic. Here, literature is viewed as a document. But students of literature have to be open to a set of different approaches to literature. First, they can have their own pleasure reading. To take the next step, they have to re-read it in accordance with their own needs. For example, if they like to read it through the lens of sociology , they need then necessary tools. Literature could provide students, in particular, and readership in general, with their own personal and academic needs.
