Structuralism and The Contemporary Paradigm of Teaching Literature in Pakistan Four tensions define the researcher's approach to the problem of teaching English literature in Pakistan. These are generated by the differences between the society that has produced this literature on one side and the society that is trying to make some use out of it on the other, together with the general displacement of literature as the touchstone of social wisdom by science. The researcher has tested some of the old assumptions about literature, the reasons traditionally adduced for teaching it and the supposed benefits of doing so. Possibilities for rationalizing the objectives, processes and methods of teaching it in Pakistan are also explored, and the researcher has offered some recommendations at the end of the thesis.