Today’s discussion is about classic literature.  Why I think reading it is important, and why it is important in general.

I’m going so start with why classic literature is important in general.  Think of your favorite high fantasy novels, then think about the first high fantasy books you ever read.  For me, the first high fantasy novels I ever read were The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis, The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.  Both authors, in my opinion, are the original creators of high fantasy, and the three works that I listed are works of classic literature.  Think about other genres too, like contemporary, dystopian  Think about other works of classic literature by the likes of Jane Austen, Homer, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Laura Ingles Wilder, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Without all of these authors and their literature, I don’t think that literature would be what it is today.  In other words, and people may not agree with me on this, classic literature is the foundation of all literature.

Why I think reading classic literature is important:
As I previously stated, classic literature is the foundation of all literature.  Everything about classic literature is different.  Reading classic literature you can expand your vocabulary, even reading translations of Greek and Latin literature.  The majority of words in the English language have Greek and Latin roots.  Classic literature is meant to be challenging, as opposed to more modern literature which is a lot easier to read and understand.  The language in classic literature is much more difficult, take Beowulf for example, it’s not easy to read, it really makes you think about the words that you are reading, it is the same thing with Shakespeare, and Homer!  Classic literature also makes you think in a way that I feel modern  And lastly you can learn about history and culture in a different context other than a boring textbook!

Is one of your 2017 goals to read more classics? Do you read them, why or why not?