Subject: Why are Classics so hard to read?
Posted by: WorldBook14
Date: Sep 27 11
Does anyone else have this problem? I find it very hard to sit down and read an old classic book and understand it completely due to the style of writing.
Posted by: WorldBook14
Date: Sep 27 11
Does anyone else have this problem? I find it very hard to sit down and read an old classic book and understand it completely due to the style of writing.
53 replies. On page 1 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
HannahConner88
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I think there are a couple reasons why some people have a difficult time reading classic books; vocabulary has changed, and naturally so have the times. This makes it hard for readers to understand or relate to a story, and therefore they're not interested in reading. I wouldn't say I have this problem; all the books I really like were published before 1980 (if that's considered classic). Reply #1. Sep 28 11, 1:12 PM |
AlexxSchneider 
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My favorite books are definitely among the classics (Brontes, Jane Austen, for example) but I can see where you're coming from. I agree with Hannah; in my opinion, it's mostly that vocabulary and the language have evolved (God forbid it becomes so simplified that the equivalent of reading Jane Austen would become like reading Old English!), and definitely the subject matter does little to reel someone in who isn't previously fascinated with that time period. Reply #2. Sep 30 11, 9:17 AM |
mjws1968
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The English Language has changed so much over the last thousand years or so, grammar has changed, vocabulary has expanded and style, idiom and slang have totally altered even since Austen's time (you should try reading Old English, each noun has different forms depending on gender case and number, the language has got a lot simpler). There were also much stronger regional variations up until English became standardized around Tudor times. Hence, the further back in history the novel, the more difficult it is for a modern reader to understand and enjoy, If you have studied the language of Austen's time and also understand the nature of Regency society, the biting satire becomes more blindingly obvious, but even for an unaware reading it is a good read, but less so. If you go further back you have novelists like Milton, who you need a glossary of 17th century obscure words to understand plus an understanding of biblical allusions not necessarily innate to a modern reader. It gets worse as you pass through Shakespeare and Chaucer, and I defy any sane person to try and read Beowulf in the original Wessex dialect of Anglo-Saxon. I managed a third. The problem is that if somebody translates these classic texts into 21st century English, a lot of the original meaning and charm will be lost. I think the classics will always have a following, even if paper versions eventually become extinct and we all end up reading them on Kindle-style devices. Reply #3. Sep 30 11, 7:11 PM |
george48
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Kindle.Never! Blasphemy! Books are personal. Reply #4. Sep 30 11, 9:08 PM |
agony
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I suggest that you just keep going, even if you find it hard. What happens is that after a while, you become more accustomed to what you are reading, and it stops seeming so difficult. When I was a kid, I read a lot of old books - Kipling, E Nesbit, Black Beauty, Little Women, etc. Since all kids are used to doing a fair bit of guessing when reading - you don't always know every word, don't always understand every little thing - reading the older books didn't seem all that much harder than reading something maybe a little old for me but contemporary. As I got older and started reading "adult" older books, I found I already had a certain grounding, because of all those half understood books of my childhood. So, just jump in. Don't fret if you don't get everything - as long as you are getting enough to fallow the story, just keep going. There's no test at the end! Reply #5. Oct 03 11, 6:21 PM |
| AlexxSchneider
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mjws1968, on the subject of nouns having different forms according to gender and number, this is the reason my German (and Latin and Ancient Greek) is so strong compared to my French. I prefer languages with case systems; it actually simplifies things for me, in a way. I haven't tried to tackle Anglo-Saxon yet, but by some mistake in my second year of university I ended up struggling through some medieval French! Reply #6. Oct 04 11, 9:32 AM |
| AlexxSchneider
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And may I add to the original question: even if you don't understand it all on your first read, a second or third read will uncover more for you, especially if you read other books in between. I remember trying to read Mansfield Park by Jane Austen at a young age, and only getting out of it the fact that they put on a play! But I've since read other Austen books (though not that one) and other similar books, and I have no problems understanding them. Part of easily understanding classics is having experience in reading them. Reply #7. Oct 04 11, 9:34 AM |
lola0177
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IMO, it's difficult to find something to think/say about them that hasn't already been said...also, it's difficult to read out of historical context, which we must because we no longer read them when they were written Reply #8. Apr 05 12, 7:15 PM |
scrumpyT
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I have read a fair bit of Jane Austen (but years ago) and liked it, but cannot get through anything by Thomas Hardy (and I grew up in Dorset, shameful).. for me, I don't think it is the language so much as the interest in the plot. I like a Jane Austen with it's gentle intrigue, but TH not so much.. although when I was 17/18 I read pretty much everything by DH Lawrence and that doesn't really romp along.... Reply #9. Apr 06 12, 2:37 AM |
weissmarc
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" Twas brillig and the slithy toves". Is it any wonder some of the classics can be a tough read? Reply #10. Apr 09 12, 12:41 AM |
SisterSeagull
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ScrumpyT..... Hang your head in shame! lol Reply #11. Apr 09 12, 2:16 AM |
diade68
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I think what everybody oversees here is that almost all we know about past centuries we do it through written material, including novels. It is a blessing that writers with such a powerfull gift were able to send us on a journey of senses and imagination and allowed us to picture in great detail where we came from, because all of our ancestors are depicted in those books. Anybody interested in humanity and roots will find eventually great pleasure in this discovery journey,reading the clasics.And more, behind the plot, which is important,of course, there are allways human basic feelings, conflicts and situations that are as actual today as they were from the begining of human race. Reply #12. Sep 17 12, 5:27 PM |
kaddarsgirl
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Toughest books I've tried to read...everything by Mark Twain (especially "Prince and the Pauper"). Because of the time period he wrote in, everything had to be described in detail so people could visualize what was going on. Unfortunately for me, when I tried to read his books back in 9th grade, by the time he was done with his description, I'd already forgotten what it was he was trying to describe in the first place. "Heart of Darkness" by Conrad was tough to read (and I tried to, senior yr of high school). I couldn't even bring myself to finish the book. No one should be forced to read a sentence that is 10 lines long, or a paragraph that doesn't break for 2 pages. "Pride and Prejudice" (but other by Austen as well I'd bet). I tried reading the first page of this book 5 times, when it was assigned in 12th grade, and even after the 5th re-read I had no idea what she was talking about. I didn't even bother trying to read past the first page. I just watched the movies instead...it seemed easier. Reply #13. Sep 17 12, 7:22 PM |
| alexis722
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A well made film is sometimes enough to interest you in reading the book it was created from {seemed like it was the opposite many years ago when classics were required reading}, but I've found that even my favorite books when I was young are more difficult to plow through now - we live in an instant world and expect answers to be gotten quickly. I find reading books written in this age are so much easier to skim through. The classics require more pondering, but they seem to remain longer in the memory. Reply #14. Sep 18 12, 2:31 AM |
blindcat78
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For some people it's just boring & some can't get the dialog. Reply #15. Sep 23 12, 6:35 PM |
pyonir
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I haven't read a whole lot of them, but for me it differed by writer. Reading Dickens' "Great Expectations" I was consistently lost. Oscar Wilde's "Dorian" I didn't have much of a problem with. "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was simple, but I didn't really care for the text written as if it were spoken at the time, in very broken English. Thoreau, I was lost most of the time. So it just varies a lot for me. Reply #16. Sep 24 12, 1:11 AM |
adams627
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I personally have way more trouble with modern authors than older ones: throw me a Dickens or Austen any day, and I can get through it no sweat, but Pynchon, Faulkner, and Joyce are much rougher going :) Historical context is really helpful for understanding old books--obviously, "Pride and Prejudice" and "Catch-22" aren't similar in the slightest, but they can both make me laugh as long as I'm aware of the time period. Reply #17. Oct 01 12, 8:45 PM |
Irene_wang
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Thank God! I thought it was my own problem! Thank you for giving me this relief. May I know if you are a native speaker? My native language is not English and I take learning english very seriously. I was frustrated gravely because I sometimes found it difficult to read books a hundred years ago. I hope it's the same with native speakers. Reply #18. Jul 02 14, 1:41 AM |
| blindcat78
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The language was different during the times th lassics were written. Reply #19. Jul 06 14, 4:26 AM |
skydude13579
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Well it depends on the classic. Some are a piece of cake (The Old Man and the Sea) and others are impossible (Ulysses). Difficult books, like ones by Joyce and Faulkner, are seen as classics because they offer so many discussions amongst scholars and college students. They are innovative, inspirational, and meant to challenge readers, which means that their style is not likely what we are used to reading. And as far as the classics before 1900, I agree with everyone else. Reply #20. Jul 06 14, 10:18 AM |
53 replies. On page 1 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
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