ABSTRACT
Traditionally, English as a subject has appeared as an amalgam of disparate activities: reading, composition, and language work were the main components. The teaching of literature, similarly fragmented into lessons on poetry, prose, and drama, was often regarded as a purely academic pursuit, having little connection with the personal development of the pupil. This perception of English as a portmanteau into which various pursuits can be squeezed persists in the separation of language and literature in state examination syllabuses. Literature is seen as an optional extra, or as an important but ancillary form of aesthetic education. In the modern curriculum, literature must be recognized as the central core of English. It is not only the teacher's principal source of language study. It also most importantly, a discipline in its own right, the most effective means of training pupil's minds in clear thinking, forming independent judgements. And responding sensitively to the ideas and feelings of other people.
