Taiwo Olaniyi

                  (June 2, 2022)           This well - staple and free.           It’s all we have,           so well for who thirsts or waters,           perforce either a ⁺drawer:           Phone. Laptop.          ‘Give me your phone!’           Yell. A gun.         ‘And your laptop.’        I gave him.       ‘Move back.’         He left.     Now all in the world nigh ends - decaying    I draw from the well no more     The Dark Ages?     Oh no! Maybe Medieval.     Yes, eon.     Tell me which, please.     Well, here some agony.     Drifting further afield.     Pray the end is well.  +A drawer is a tool that is used to draw water from the well.  

1.0 Introduction   This talk is a sequel to the abiding attempts by literary scholars to explain the ways in which Literature as a discipline empirically facilitates the creation of a better world where everyone is concerned about the pains and pleasures of one and other. This concern is what I have termed empathy which in all indications is what we all need to cultivate in order to ensure a more harmonious world for ourselves. Therefore, the core of this talk is to explore ways in which being literary can make us more empathetic to one another, particularly in this perilous time of pandemic and prevalent personal tragedies.  1.1 What is Literature? Literature simply means a body of creative or imaginative works. Writings such as drama text, poem and novels are in the domain of Literature. A notable characteristics of Literature is that it uses language in a peculiar way (organized violence committed on ordinary speech – Roman Jakobson) to address the human conditions in it