It’s sort of strange to read that The Study of English is a fairly new concept. I guess I always assumed that English was always right up there with Math, Science, History, and everything else. I assumed it had always been like that. I never even questioned it. But, to think it wasn’t even established until after WWI is pretty shocking to me. I’m also pretty shocked that originally people who graduated with the first “English” degrees actually had degrees in Language because it was thought that an English degree wasn’t strong enough to hold on it’s own. It’s crazy how much has changed in the past century. It went from being a debatable topic to one of the most important topics of study. I remember being in school and always being pushed to do my best on English and Mathematics. Even throughout high school, every year, you were required to take both of those.Those two were always the most important, and I can’t believe that less than a century ago it couldn’t even hold a degree on it’s own. It’s sort of amazing how it evolved over the century. I, of course, am glad that it did. I have always loved English and I couldn’t imagine it not being an option of study. Also, I love how it became a source of salvation for the people during the war. To think that something as ugly as war could produce something as beautiful as the new appreciation for the study of English Literature is pretty amazing.
I really liked how The Newbolt Report put it.
“Literature is not just a subject for academic study, but one of the chief temples of the human spirit, in which we should all worship.”
Literature has always been that way for me. It always held character that I appreciated. Even from when I was very young, stories entranced me. I’m just glad that it isn’t taken for granted as much as it used too be back in the day when it was still only a language. It has truly evolved into something great and more widely appreciated. I hope that other areas of study can blossom into something as widely appreciated as English has. Who knows what other under appreciated studies are out there just waiting to grow?