Mention the reasons for which literature should be based on the whole culture.

Answer

Mention the reasons for which literature should be based on the whole culture. [2021] ✪✪✪

Or, Discuss why FR Leavis says that literature should be based on the whole culture. [2019] 

Or, How does F. R. Leavis argue in favour of his view that literature should be based on the whole culture? [2017]

F.R. Leavis (1895-1978) believed that literature and society are deeply connected. In his essay “Literature and Society” (1937), he explains that literature should be based on the whole of social culture (both popular and sophisticated). For him, true literature comes from a living connection between the writer, the people, and their shared values. He rejects one-sided views of either the individual or the society. He insists that both must unite in literature to create a complete cultural expression.

Literature and the Whole Society: Leavis believed that literature reflects the moral and spiritual life of a community. He said, 

“It is only in individuals that society lives.”

This means that literature grows from the life of society through individual minds. For him, great writers do not live apart from their people. They speak the language of their age and represent the values of their time. Leavis thus believed that good literature must express both the individual talent and the collective spirit of society.

Rejection of One-Sided Theories: Leavis rejected both Romantic and Marxist ideas because they focused on only one aspect of life. The Romantics praised individual emotion and largely ignored society, while the Marxists focused solely on material and class forces. He said, 

“Without the individual talent there is no creation.” 

However, he also believed that individual genius cannot exist apart from its cultural context. For him, the balance between the personal and the social makes art meaningful. 

The Augustan and Romantic Contrast: Leavis studies English literature through different ages to prove his point. The Augustan writers like Dryden, Pope, and Addison stressed social manners and public order. They made man only a social being.