Dr. Matthew Wilkinson talks on LBC Radio about literature, swearing and the school curriculum

By Dr. Matthew Wilkinson

Monday, 17 March. Dr. Matthew Wilkinson contributed to LBC Radio’s prime-time morning radio show hosted by Nick Ferrari on a controversial play, ‘Mogadishu’, that is being studied in secondary schools and about which Rt. Hon. Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education, has had opinions.

Matthew said that Aristotle claimed that the role of literature is to hold up a mirror to society. Great writers, including Chaucer and Shakespeare, have laid bare the hidden under-belly of society in their day. Since swearing is a part of our society, young people need to think about the causes of swearing and how it reflects what is going on in our society. However, gratuitous swearing in literature does not help the reader explore or understand society, in fact it obscures what is going on.