Literature social role and artist’s accountability

Ailbeart Babukar, Absolon Bart

Abstract

This paper treated the question of the social role of literature and the accountability of the artist in society. It explicated that there are actually two types of literature which are oral and written literatures. In spite of the existence of these two main branches of literature, the paper also showed that there exist several other forms of literature which are categorized according to their goals or the intention of the artist. Among these forms of literature, people may cite: pure literature, applied literature, music and songs, literature of propaganda, literature of escape and relaxation. In like manner, the paper demonstrated that literature is by nature linked to the society in which the writer lives, for he is highly inspired and guided by the social realities, as well as the environment which plays an important role in the artistic and literary production or creation. He thus, becomes the servant of his society and the voice of his people. It also described the historic and indisputable link between oral literature and the written one. The study actually concluded that any kind of literature is useful and important, for there is no bad or good literature and it all depends on the taste of the reader and his intellectual and literary capacity to appropriately decipher and appreciate a piece of literature regardless of its form or genre.