Influence of Literature on Human Beings: Examples from 18th to 19th Century Literary Works

Abstract

This paper examines the influence of literature on the impact of civilization by studying significant pieces from the Enlightenment, Romantic, and Victorian eras. Literature is omnipresent in human life and society and it both represents and shapes important human sentiments, civilization, and intellect. Through the close reading of Voltaire and Mary Shelley, as well as Charles Declens with the poetry of William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Emily Dickinson, this research looks into the ways literature affects societal expectations and personal ideals. I intend to show how those authors fostered the literature of culture critique and moral self-reflection, as well as the thorough transformation of cultures. The chosen works represent literature’s impact on building compassion, national identity, and social responsibility. With their stories and poems, these insightful people point to the diverse facets of humanity regarding individual and societal phenomena. This paper demonstrates that literature serves not only as a mirror of society but rather as an influencer of thoughts and actions within it. By studying the literature of the 18th and 19th centuries, the focus of this research is how its significance is still pertinent today regarding human nature and society's development. Above all, this paper honors the contribution of literature towards the perception of emotions and intellect by humanity.