Teaching Literature through the Arts: A Few Notes on Teaching Aldous Huxley’s Point Counter Point through Beethoven’s Music

Abstract

The present article examines a teaching experiment undertaken by the author in order to point out not only the importance of the arts and aesthetics, but also their limitations. It also argues that, despite these limitations, the spirit of the arts opens us up to freedom and flexibility. Their purpose is not to give answers or solutions, but to make us question the most troubling aspects of our existence. The last chapter of Aldous Huxley’s novel Point Counter Point invites an approach that should do justice to its musical qualities. Apart from borrowing the counterpoint technique from music, it also references music, therefore lending itself to performance, which renders its dramatic force with a strong impact upon readers.