Each one came to this planet hardwired to explore, to push out, to grow, to evolve and to discover. The study of literature is like listening to ‘strange, melodious sounds’ where its universe incorporates a multitude of sounds too faint for human ears and literature provides eyes and ears for such undiscovered territory. Literature at its most basic level is considered to fulfil two aspects- the subject matter and presentation should arouse general human interest. A piece of literature differs from a discourse on astronomy, political economy, philosophy, history, et cetera, as it has, by and large, universal appeal and renders aesthetic pleasure rather than merely imparting knowledge. Why should one care for literature? One should care for literature for its deep and lasting human significance. As the much discussed and oft-quoted definition of Matthew Arnold says, “Literature is the criticism of life”, it grows directly out of life and it expands one’s life and incites one to forge new ways to conceive and organize life anew. Literature provides a record of what has been seen in life, and the experiences reaped out of it that have immediate or lasting impact or significance in life. All the perceptions of socio-cultural reality and complex ways of dense human lives are expressed through the medium of language organized in various forms of literary art.

Keywords: Paradigms of Literature, Strange, Melodious Sounds, Political Economy, Aesthetic Pleasure