As there was only poetry which considered as literature, like Plato, Aristotle, and Boccaccio was talked about, the function and use of literature is still debated until now. According to what Socrates said to Ion, the constant separation between good and bad poetry is the inspiration that it gives to reader. Good poets itself compose their poems not by art, but because they are inspired and possessed. It is like God takes away the mind of poets and makes them only the interpreters of God.
Since this belief was considered by the society as an abnormality, Horace concluded in "Art of Poetry" that the function of poems (literature) is to inform or to delight (utile et dulce). Beside to give pleasure to the reader by using desire and carefulness of composing words, author can use his writings to give information, thoughts, and instruction. For the example, Socratic reading could be about duty for the nation, love according to friends, parents, brothers, and guests, the role of senator, judge, and general in that time.
According to Paul De Man’s “The Resistance of Theory”, literature theory is compatible with teaching as a reflection of method. Yet, if there is something like discrepancy between Wahrheit and Methode, then theory are no longer compatible. The common principles are cultural and ideological rather than theoretical. The example of New Criticism is T.S Elliot whom has the combination of talent, traditionalism, and moral earnestness. Then for him, there is resistance to theory because it reveals the mechanics of society’s working; it opponents tradition which beauty of words is a precious part; it upsets the established foundation of literary works and blurs the boundaries between literary and non literary discourse.
It does not mean that theory becomes unimportant. Otherwise, it assumes that “literary theory is not in danger of going under, but even flourishes. What we do not know is whether this flourishing is a triumph of fall.” (1986: 1327)
However, Scholes, who in my opinion opponents against theory, said in his essay “The English Apparatus”, that students now exist in most manipulative culture human being. Scholes said that students are bombarded with signs and rhetoric in many times and deprived of experience in thoughtful reading and writing of verbal texts. What students need from literature, which for myself became the use of literature, are having “knowledge and skill that will enable them to make sense of their worlds, to determine their own interests, both individual and collective, to see through the manipulation of all sort of texts in all sorts of media, and to express their own views in some appropriate manner.” (1986: 15)
Note: I will provide further elaborations later.
