I think that English Literature offers an auther or poet the chance to convey a palpable message through an intangible scenario. The literature itself has a microcosm of plots and characters but the overall meaning is contained when looking at the text as a whole. I think it is a lot easier to debate or discuss questions of morality and ethics when they are relevant to a peice of literature because, since the events may never have occured in the real world and therefore there is nothing tangible to relate the ideas to, it provides a premise in which to explore the author's thoughts.