They will of course have other and better reason, which we shall be coming to later;
but it is very probable that the passing of examinations is their immediate goal, and that they originally chose English literature as one of their subjects for no better reason than that it seemed easier or less disagreeable than chemistry or applied mathematics.
In many ways it is unfortunate that literature has now become a subject for study and examination in schools and colleges.
That young people should be helped and encouraged and guided in their reading is good, but that they should study literature only in order to pass examinations is certainly bad.
If anything could make William Shakespeare turn in his much visited grave at stratford it would be the Thought of millions of English schoolchildren and foreign students painfully reading thought his plays memorizing set speeches, and making careful notes on characters all so that they can pass an Oxford examination, win a Cambridge certificate, or by some other means prove to the world that they are people of education and culture.
Yet there is at least one good thing to be said for studying literature in order to pass examinations: It trains students to pay close attention to the printed work, and encourages them to think deeply about the meaning of what is written.
In the past, in Europe at least, this was done though the study of Greek and Latin literature. In our own time the student of modern languages needs to learn the same kind of careful attention to detail.
It is all too easy, in a world dominated by radio and television, to lose the habit of thoughtful and careful reading.