I’m sure every person has complained about reading classic literature at some point in their education. I know I have. Older works are confusing, the words and formats are strange, they rarely make sense. We drag our feet in reading these books or plays for class and rarely (or never) lean to pick one up for personal literature. We seem to resent these books even without considering their contributions to the English language. Without Shakespeare and Dickens (and countless other authors), books like The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and DUNE wouldn’t exist, even the speaking style and words would fail to be the same or carry the current meanings.
William Shakespeare is an author all of us have had to read at least once, whether it be Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, or one of his many poems. He is not an author that I personally enjoy reading, and I’m assuming many of you agree with me. But, even if you don’t enjoy his literature, he’s responsible for over 1,700 words and sayings in the English language. Concepts of these words had existed for years before his birth even, but many had never been written or recorded until his plays or poems.
Yes, it is possible these words could have existed in speech and he was simply the first to write them down, but that still remains an achievement for literature.
If you would like to explore some examples, here is a list of 20 words/phrases he is credited with creating: 20 words
Jane Austen greatly impacted the literary genre/style of realism. Many or most of her novels feature young women (or heroines) who not only search for romantic interests (the only “allowed” type of female literature at the time), but search for evolution and growth in themselves. She includes commentary about social class and reputation, along with writing characters that feel real.
Many readers gravitate towards her work due to the relatability of her characters and plots. She changed the game of writing by introducing new perspectives and stories for women. She showed that there is more than one thing for girls to focus on and introduced a new writing style with immense amount of detail to all authors, allowing for more people to enjoy literature.
`So, even if you think it’s boring or confusing, I encourage you to go to a library and pick out a literary great. Study the different writing styles and themes, so you can learn how your favorite books have been influenced. And, possibly, you’ll be influenced too.
I completely agree with this- I also find that classic books tend being incredibly different from books nowadays, but somehow manage to share a similar ''vibe/spirit' (literally that is the best I could come up with) and regarding the writing style, while it's often lengthier and harder to comprehend, I think there's a certain beauty in reading these works as despite these challenges, they "paint better pictures," so to speak.
ReplyDeleteYou bring such a great point on Shakespeare! I personally may not enjoy reading his works too much, but I can definitely see now how much he has been able to contribute to the english language as a whole. I also found those 20 words as an example of what he had created really interesting and intriguing! Awesome blog, definitely opened up my perspective on literature and its countless unseen contributors.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post is really well-written! I found it especially interesting that William Shakespeare is credited with making 20 words. I also find it cool that some words are used by many people in their daily lives. Good job!
ReplyDeleteI love this post, Max! I am becoming a bit of a Shakespeare fan, and the point you bring up about his influence in language is so good! I've probably only read one or two Jane Austen novels, but I think it's really important to reflect on the literature we have normally just put to the side and labelled as "classics" if that makes sense.
ReplyDelete(Comment written by Naomi) Hi Max! I like how you point out the importance of old literature, despite being difficult to read. I used to think it was incredibly boring, however, I’ve been trying to grow to appreciate it more, finding out that Shakespere is credited with inventing words/phrases has definitely increased my view on his work even more. Also, I like how you pointed out that Jane Austen impacted the way women were depicted, that is amazing! Great blog post!
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