Classics left for school syllabus only?

Mahi

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Posted: 15 years ago

Well, I was thinking about this a while ago - some of the classics like Romeo & Juliet, Julius Caesar, Beowulf, and many more are taught in schools only these days.

I mean how many people do you going around reading these classics? (Not to say that I love them because I don't.) So does that mean that the new generation's thinking is changing? We tend to like more contemporary/different style novels/plays.

I also know a many people for who it became a pain to read these classics in highschool. They were literally crying. But then I guess our thoughts have evolved... And that's why more and more books come out because people today are reading them.

What do you think?

-Mahi

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Just call me Chhilt :)

@chhilt

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Posted: 15 years ago

nice topic, Mahi :) Actually, i like a few of the classics like Treasure Island and David Copperfield which i read out of curiousity and not as part of a school syllabus.... but as for Shakespeare, I must admit that i do complain when i have to read it... mainly because of the old English that's used....

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Mahi

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Posted: 15 years ago

^^^ Definitely, but I think what makes it worse is when you have to memorize certain parts of the long speeches. I mean when will we ever need that?

-Mahi

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Just call me Chhilt :)

@chhilt

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Posted: 15 years ago

i know! I mean if we had to do a play or something it makes sense.... but other than that i think it's a waste... no offence intended to anyone

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Mahi

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Posted: 15 years ago

We actually had to memorize this long speech in Julius Caesar and then the "To Be Or Not To Be" speech in Hamlet. It took a while and I forgot it the next day, useless and waste of time and energy.

Yeah I am also sorry if anyone thinks that that's important. 😳

-Mahi

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Michelle

@shellytt

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Posted: 15 years ago

I think that once you get used to the Shakespere language, it becomes easier. Now I don't really love Shakespere, but there is a certain beauty and poetism to his words, and I think that if you don't have to read it for a class assignment and you are doing it for the pleasure of reading a masterpiece of literature, it changes according to your perception and you would probably enjoy it more. Especially once you get past the language barrier and get into the stories themselves.

As for Classics in general, I think that the perception of classics are that they are uninteresting and don't have storylines that you can relate to, and that is part of the reason that young persons today shy away from reading them. But the beauty of classics is that they will always be around and someday they can be rediscovered by those who may not have wanted to read them in their school days, but now will read them just for the joy of enjoying a great peice of work. We have to remember that they are classics for a reason!

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316007

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Posted: 15 years ago

i like classics especially shakespeare and i have read many of his plays purely for my leisure reading. one classic i would seriously recommend to everyone is lord of the flies by william golding its such a captivating and well written novel which stays in your mind long after you have read it, i read it first for my gcse english literature exam but following that i have read the book again several times.

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Mahi

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Posted: 15 years ago

Yep, I definitely agree about the fact that a lot of Shakespeare stuff brings chills to the generation today because the language is hard to understand... but once you get over that then some plays are interesting. Mine favorites are Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night. I read them not for school but actually for fun.

-Mahi

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Something Or The Other

@ShadowKisses

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Posted: 15 years ago

I'm a huge fan of classics as most of them, I've read for leisure. However, the ones I've read for the syllabus have also managed to make me love them. I think it has something to do with my english teacher's love for world literature. She vehemently dislikes most contemporary novels as she feels there is little literary value in them so she'd never let us do any of our assignments on them. That's what mainly sparked my interest in classics.

The complexity of the diction in and the size of the classics sometimes intimidates the "new generation". Furthermore, several people would rather pick up contemporary novels rather than a classic merely because of the label "classic". They might feel it would be boring and they can't "relate to it" but some classics are far more modern than the contemporary novels today. Take Sense and Sensibility for example. It has more post-Modernism in it than the latest rage, the Twilight series.

Classics are most enjoyable when read for leisure. However, if one was to do an assignment on a classic, one might get bored of examining it so closely. It varies greatly from person to person, I suppose.

Edited by ShadowKisses - 15 years ago

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Mahi

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Posted: 15 years ago

^^ Wow, you have really pointed out a very interesting fact... many people really do refrain from reading a book just because it's been labeled as a "Classic" and they feel that they will not relate to it.

I think part of your feelings about classics do get affected by the kind of English teacher you have (like you have said). It's really important that you have a teacher who loves classics and can teach them in a way that can make them interesting to you but if teachers give some most boring and repetitive assignments on these books, you lose the interest.

-Mahi

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