Why Study English?
In the article, Rylance asks what the study of the English language “does for us” and I
believe it does a lot for our society as a whole in terms of progressive input and output. What
makes the English language so appealing to us as a society is the fact that it has adapted and
changed over time to the point where it allows for more intellectually demanding discussions.
The language itself has evolved as we have adapted and grown as a society over time, and so
it’s only right for our language to move with us. The kind of literary discussions made 600
years ago are not at the height they are now. As we adapt and hold deeper, more substantial
discussions to learn, the use of words, and vocabulary has also adapted. Our goal is to hold
intellectual conversations that mentally challenge ourselves and the English language, over the
years, has been catered to do just that. It also shows English is “emblematic of the way values
should operate” in our society and time. Over time our values also change as a society, and just
like technology has evolved and expanded, so has the human race’s need and quest for
knowledge which is why we continue to ask ourselves tough, purposeful questions and hold
such discussions. I also believe that the hunger for knowledge is a part of our nature. As soon
as the human became sentient, we have always been on the quest for knowledge, we invented
the wheel and since then have come to a holt in our mental and literary expansion. I see being
in this course and studying English as a way to formally advance my learning and express
myself on a greater plane. Being in this course gives me the reassurance that my views of our
literature will be expanded and grown upon through our studies in class. Something that really
was significant to me was how much we can be influenced by the past and how the ‘scholars’
saw other works compared to ones that are more recent or modern. However, the end all goal
of these literary works and even art is to express oneself or even find escape in things of this
nature. I’m addition, having been born in the 2000s, there’s works before my time that don’t
resonate with me in the way they do with someone like my father who has been alive longer
than me. Taking this course is an aid for me to expand my horizon and become more aware
and feed my curiousity about the history, growth and importance of the English language.