Literature as an Expression of Personality

Que.: “Literature as an Expression of Personality” OR “Art is life seen through a Temperament.”

In the second part of “Some Ways of Studying Literature”, Hudson deals with literature as an expression of personality. He starts with the much-discussed definition of literature by Matthew Arnold, “literature is the criticism of life.” Literature is an interpretation of life; the writer interprets the life in his own way and gives a commentary over it in his work. According to a French epigram “art is life seen through a temperament.” It means that literary art is an expression of life through the temperament of the writer and literature mirrors this temperament. The mirror the writer hold to the world is the mirror of his own personality and individuality. And hence it is necessary to study literature as an expression of personality.

Hudson says that, “a great book is born of brain and heart of its author; he has put himself in his pages; they partake of his life, and are instinct with his individuality.” Therefore, it is essential to know the author in order to understand a work of art. We cannot understand any piece of literature unless we understand and know the first.  Hudson suggests us to establish a personal contact with the author as “personal experience is the basis of all real literature.” Hudson remembers famous quote of Milton, “a good book is the precious life-blood of a master-spirit, embalmed and treasured up on the purpose of a life beyond life.”  Thus, literature is an expression of life but it is essential for all to understand the life of the writer first as literature is life-blood of the author.

In order to judge great books, one must distinguish between what Carlyle calls ‘genuine voices’ and ‘mere echoes.’ He means to say that in great books the writers speaks for themselves, whereas in an ordinary works they speak on the report of others. We must distinguish essential difference between the literature which draws its life directly from personality and experience, and that which draws its life mainly at second hand from contact with the personality and experience of others. Thus, the second type of literature is, as Turgenev says, “smell of literature,” but as the student of literature, the works of the “fullest of original vitality” are of chief concern.

Hudson says that there should be sincerity, originality, and, genuineness of expressing life in great literature as without this a literary work becomes life-less. Hudson believes, “without sincerity, no vital work in literature is possible.” Originality of experience makes literature “far more accomplished art.” And genuineness of experience imparts to literature quality of authenticity which is visible only in great works. In this way, Hudson suggests us to penetrate as deeply as we can into the personal life of the author. Our reading should be actual intercourse between the author of the book and ourselves. We should observe how the world of experience impressed him, and how it is interpreted through his personality. While going through a book, we become familiar with the character, outlook, strength, weakness, and, accent of the writer’s personality.

Thus, the study of literature is actually a study of writer’s personality. Hence one can say that literature is in fact an expression personality.