I don't think you have to read everything three times. That is confusing Lewis Carroll's dictum in the
Hunting of the Snark
Quote:
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it twice:
That alone should encourage the crew.
Just the place for a Snark! I have said it thrice:
What I tell you three times is true.
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and the mediaeval
Trivium, which was a group of three subjects initially studied towards a degree.
Mind you, when I was an undergraduate I had a lecturer whose method was to say everything three times:
Quote:
First I tell you what I am going to say;
then I say it;
then I tell you what I just said.
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You are an English major. Your question would have greater clarity if you explained what you studied at university. The gaps would then be apparent. Can you read Old English? Middle English? How are your Latin and Ancient Greek? Are you interested in Philosophy? "The classics" can mean different things to different people.
Obviously if you read Dickens you are not put off by length and prolixity. This is a big plus over many people who are unaccustomed to the writing of previous ages.