Poll: What's your take on "Classic English Literature?"

[The Breadcrab]

Hey all,

I'm taking several literature courses at my university (specifically English Literature courses), as I'm looking to get into writing. It's not surprising that I soon realized many of the texts we read and study are more or less "alien" in today's society. Sure, my professors and classmates all recognize them, but try to go out in public and strike up a casual conversation about "Heart of Darkness" or "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" and you'll get more than a few blank stares. The majority of people I talk to don't know squat about any of them. Talk about a film or game however, even old classics like Citizen Kane or Pac-Man, and they'll know what you mean.

Of course, this is all understandable; all of these works are old and written in prose that doesn't resonate with the average person these days. Furthermore, the entire literary format has been shafted for films and games. It's simply a result of dwindling attention spans and better technology. At the same time, I can't help but feel people are missing out by ignoring these literary works. I love watching Morgan Freeman and listening to guys who took "arrows to the knee" as much as the next guy, but these classic texts have a lot meaningful material that anybody can learn from and be inspired by. Many of these titles are easy to come by (even free in many cases; public domain anyone?), well-known, and even pretty short in some cases ("The Dead" by James Joyce can be read in less than an hour).

But alas, that's my personal stance, and I don't want to sound like a crotchety old man yelling about "kids these days". What do you guys think? Should every game designer, businessman, scientist, etc have a few of these literary works under their belt, or they archaic and useless things that can be ignored without fear? I want to know.

EDIT: ARGHH. Poll is screwed up a bit. Trying to fix it.

EDIT 2: Until it gets fixed, here are the broken options...

Option 2 - "I enjoy them but don't think other people need to read them."
Option 4 - "Hate them and think they're useless."
Option 5 - "I think they're good, but archaic and irrelevant at this point."
Option 6 - "Good for school classes, but otherwise unnecessary."

 

[Kahunaburger]

Good books don't ever stop being good books, IMO. People shouldn't cheat themselves out of the classics because they're difficult to read, but sadly many people do exactly that.

 

[Vault101]

classics huh? depending what you define as a "classic"

I tried reading "Tess of the Durbervilles" or whatever, I could read and understand what was going on...its just I felt like there was some subtle stuff I was missing due to the language

I did however enjoy the "the picure of Doran gray" alot

guess Im just a stephen king pleb...

 

[SeeIn2D]

My personal favorite is Paradise Lost. I enjoy classic literature, but I hated how it was always shoved down my throat throughout high school. I think the approach of forcibly analyzing it and doing all that nonsense ruins it for basically everyone who reads it.

 

[Lilani]

I had to read The Scarlet Letter in an English class in high school, and by the end of it every single one of us in that class hated it. For each and every chapter, we had to do a SIFTT, an acronym in which you point out each of the following in the chapter:

A Symbol
An Image (as in some sort of image or visual created through words)
A Figure of speech, or something figurative
The Tone
The Theme

And on top of that, we also had to do one of those Freytag pyramids for every chapter. Keep in mind, there's like 20 or 30 chapters in that book, and one of them is like a page and a half long. So a good portion of the time we were just pulling things out of our asses. When you sit down and dissect a book like that so linearly and methodically without any active discussion or critique along the way, you're not learning about the book anymore. You're just learning how to identify and document certain aspects, completely detached from the context and pace of the book and the context of the time and culture the book was written in.

So apart from that, I haven't read too many classics, simply out of a lack of interest. I remember laughing out loud at the dialog of the children in the Scarlet Letter. They didn't even sound like children, they sounded like adults doing Shakespearian improv. I understand they're timeless and all that stuff, but I'm afraid those styles just aren't my cup of tea. I enjoy me some Hobbit, but that's about as close as I've gotten, at least of my own volition.

 

[The Breadcrab]

classics huh? depending what you define as a "classic"

I tried reading "Tess of the Durbervilles" or whatever, I could read and understand what was going on...its just I felt like there was some subtle stuff I was missing due to the language

I did however enjoy the "the picure of Doran gray" alot

guess Im just a stephen king pleb...

Well, classic is a subjective term, and some lists will differ from others. Also, some are not necessarily old. In any case, here are some of my examples...

- Brave New World
- Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- anything by James Joyce
- The Horse Dealer's Daughter
- Catcher in the Rye
- Heart of Darkness
- poetry by the likes of Wordsworth, Atwood, Browning, etc.
- A Scanner Darkly
- Fifth Business
- Catch-22
- Animal Farm
- 1984
- Slaughterhouse-Five

A few of those I have not finished, but I consider these worthy of anyone's attention. If you guys have any suggestions, blurt them out!

 

[The Breadcrab]

My personal favorite is Paradise Lost. I enjoy classic literature, but I hated how it was always shoved down my throat throughout high school. I think the approach of forcibly analyzing it and doing all that nonsense ruins it for basically everyone who reads it.

Good point. I usually enjoy texts more when I read them for pleasure rather than for academic means. I remember hating Lord of the Flies back in high school, probably just because I was forced into it.

 

[Vault101]

snip!

ah I see

well I have read

animal Farm
1984,
farenheit 451
lord of the flies
to kill a mocking bird

ALL of those of my own free will and not as part of english class (I was in highschool at the time, I guess part of it is your more likley to hate somthing if its forced on you)

I LOVED to kill a mocking bird, which was different to how I expected it to be

lord of the flies and animal farm was depressing (Orwell has a pretty easy writing style)

I did try "the adventures of huckleberyr finn" but fuck trying to read that gave me a headache

I've read the first lord of the rings, the second one (I think) and mabye half the third one...see they were so friggen tedious I cant even remember, but at least I can say I tried

 

[Elementary - Dear Watson]

I am a Shelock Holmes nut... I read the complete works twice since I was 11. They are just superb... but my favourite books to read (due to being so short and fun) are the Alice's adventures in Wonderland duo! They are just so damn awesome, and funny!

I read quite a bit,a nd have a selection opf classic books, as well as modern books. Personally I prefer the classic kids books, as they seem to be the more exciting tales, and the better stories! Things like The Lost World, Robinson Crusoe, The Jungle Book and Gulliver's Travels are all awesome stories that are just interwined with modern culture completely!

 

[The Breadcrab]

snip!

ah I see

well I have read

animal Farm
1984,
farenheit 451
lord of the flies
to kill a mocking bird

ALL of those of my own free will and not as part of english class (I was in highschool at the time, I guess part of it is your more likley to hate somthing if its forced on you)

I LOVED to kill a mocking bird, which was different to how I expected it to be

lord of the flies and animal farm was depressing (Orwell has a pretty easy writing style)

I did try "the adventures of huckleberyr finn" but fuck trying to read that gave me a headache

I've read the first lord of the rings, the second one (I think) and mabye half the third one...see they were so friggen tedious I cant even remember, but at least I can say I tried

Cool! It's ok that you didn't like LotR and Hucklebery Finn, btw; I found those to be snore-worthy as well.

 

[manic_depressive13]

Most people do end up reading at least some classics for school. I generally enjoy classical literature, but I don't care to force others to read them or anything. I'd rather just seek people with common interests than impose my interests on others. Besides, I like being able to reference the classics, particularly if the people I am talking to have heard of them but not read them. It allows me to create an air of pseudo-intellectualism and gives me false authority.

 

[Hoplon]

Reading the Classics, as in the pre 20th century ones, can give a useful insight in to the era's though on various subjects. Having an understanding that even in the repetitively short time frame of written literature people have changed a great deal is an important lesson to learn.

Which has nothing to do with what your doing in English class, getting children to do deconstruction of a book is weird and not really very helpful to them if it is in to much focusing on structure over content.

 

[Screamarie]

As the saying goes "those who do not study the past are doomed to repeat it" or something to that effect. Literature is a very large part of that. Books brought about change, they still do I hope. They allow a person to see the other side of an arguement or the people behind it. It may be fiction, but that doesn't mean the idea didn't sprout from truth.

I think that if you want to be a storyteller of some sort or involved in some form of social change you should be well-read. And I think students still in highschool should get at least a taste.

But if you're an architect or marine biologist or something of that sort, I don't see how virginia woolfe's essay "What if Shakespeare had a Sister?" will help you.

That all said....I studied SOOOOO much literature when I was still attending my university....*shudders* I never want to see a book by Elizabeth Gaskell again. If I do I may just go into a trembling mental breakdown screaming "Bellingham! Bellingham!"

 

[Midnight Crossroads]

I enjoy them the second, then more the third time I read them. The first time is always something I have to force myself through. Those books just seem to be intimidating for a lot of people. They conjure up images of old, smelly books the size of small children.

Stuff like A Tale of Two Cities, Of Human Bondage, Julius Caesar, and Moby-Dick were all exceptionally boring and dry when I had to read them. Looking back though, I feel more fulfilled by them than any other literature.

My experience with French literature has been quite different. It tends to read fast, but the only authors I have experience with are Verne and Moliere. Their work all seems to be exceptionally engaging. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is one of my favorite works bar none.