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/lit/ - Literature

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8877390 No.8877390 [Reply] [Original]

Why do you read the Classics?

>> No.8877406

they provide a powerful insight into humanity; our culture, our history, our psychology. They're invaluable tools for navigating the world and living a good life.

>> No.8877417

I have nothing else to read. Any potentially interesting, or even "very good" contemporary novel is taking time i could spend on reading classic, that i may regret not reading on my death bed. Also i want to be highly cultured subversive individual, and quoting latin in appropriate daily situations fits perfectly to my imagined identity

>> No.8877419
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8877419

They never go out of style

>> No.8877529

Well I only do at night. I don't like walking down to the bathroom and then making a loud flushing noise that could awake my roommates. Also sometimes in the middle of the night I'm just to fucking tired to leave my room so I'll just pull out my jug, and I'll be back asleep in seconds. The only thing I don't like about it is the compulsion to whiff it once I unscrew the lid. Smelling your own farts can be enjoyable, but fermented urine is something you'll never get used to, even if it is your own.

>> No.8877544

the lewd bits tbqh. and the puns

>> No.8877554
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8877554

>>8877406
fpbp tbqh

>> No.8877556

Because YA is shit

>> No.8877558
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8877558

>>8877390
i want to become virtuous like cato

>> No.8877565

>>8877558
cato a simpleton

>> No.8877570

I enjoy them a lot.

>> No.8877597

>>8877558
Cato was just a butthurt nerd who wanted everyone to follow the rules

>> No.8877637

>>8877390
At first because I wanted to show off. Then I started to get hungry of knowledge and that includes culture. The last period was growing up and I started to really enjoy and feel identified with almost all of them. If it isn't a direct relation, it probably relates to someone I know.
I was too young to fully appreciate them until I was around 25 years old.

>> No.8877649

>>8877390

I wanted to see what all the fuss is about. Also, when other works reference them, I'd like to recognize it. Finally, if they're really worth their salt, it would be a better investment of time to read them instead of other books.

>> No.8877739

>>8877390
That a book has whitstood the test of time is usually a good indicator of its quality. I'm not saying that there's no good stuff being published today, but to find it you have to sift through a lot of shite.

Also, classics have a validity (vigencia, don't know if there's a precise english translation) in present times. They talk about the human condition and the questions that trouble all of us because we are human. Think of Antigone, it is one of the first written plays that have survived to our days, yet it is all there: The state vs. the individual, the laws of humans vs. the laws of gods, duty, family and death.

Lastly, literature, like philosophy, is a long conversation across the ages. One author borrows from another, and so on. In this borrowing and reshaping, the artform is furthered. Classics are often considered so not only in virtue of their aesthetic quality, but also because they influenced a large amount of posterior works. It is interesting to draw these connections and see the development of narrative (I mostly read prose) from a formal standpoint.

Literature is like any other hobby. If you like film or music, you don't just scratch the surface of the medium. You sample some of the critically acclaimed stuff, as well as the movements that have defined the artform (for instance, New Waves in film, genres in music, literary movements in literature). So called "classics" are a good way to dip your toes in these periods. From there on you can branch to more minor works of the movement, or lesser known works by the same author. There's no need to read only classics, and I think it is detrimental to stick dogmatically a Canon, but it sure is a great place to start forming your own taste.

>> No.8877749

>>8877419
But they do...they do.

>> No.8877956

It's very rewarding.

>> No.8877964

>>8877417
>le death bed meme

>> No.8878463

It's fun

>> No.8878477

Because I have no idea which new books are actually good.

>> No.8878531

Because I
Want
To
Fit
In

>> No.8878563

>>8877390
Because OP is a faggot.