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Old 08-18-2013, 09:03 AM   #14
Neverwhere
Nameless Being
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by pwalker8 View Post
At one time, the classics were taught in high school. Way back in the distant reaches of time, when I had to dodge dinosaurs to get to school (as I like to tell the kids), we had Moby Dick in the 8th grade. (I'm kind of odd, I actually like Moby Dick and liked it in the 8th grade). Now it seems to be more the pop book de jour that talks about whatever the teacher thinks is significant social issues. It's too bad that kids are missing out on the basis of our shared culture.

There are a lot of classics lists out there. I agree with the earlier poster that the Penguin Classics list is a good place to start. I read a good many of those in high school (I can't possibly imagine why "I, Claudius" and "Lolita" and "Lady Chattery's Lover" weren't on my summer reading lists . )

I would also toss in some Shakespeare, though I would suggest reading in combination with watching a good performance of the play in question. Hamlet is the most famous. The Olivier film version is the most well regarded, though quite a bit was removed. Branagh's version is unabridged and runs 4+ hours.
I frequently wish that our high school teachers had been more selective in their choices for class texts; when studying 'conflict' we read a novel with third-grade English at best. It was boring! I remember that I'd tear through these children's books (that was what they were, and it infuriated my seventeen year old self) the night of receiving the book, and then bring my own books to my English classes each lesson after. Most teachers didn't mind; I think that they were just glad that a handful of us did enjoy reading.

I'd love to read some Shakespeare, but I'm intimidated by the English that he uses. If I take my time, reading paragraphs twice or thrice and keeping my laptop on hand to look up unfamiliar words, then even with the footnotes and study guides, it's a real task to comprehend the King James Bible - and the last time I tried to read that, it wasn't for pure leisure, the way that Shakespeare would be. Are there companion guides to aide me in developing a grasp of Shakespearean English?
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