The classics. You know them well. You've had to read them in high school or college, and they were both intimidating and confusing. Or maybe you loved them, and they got you reading more classical literature OUTSIDE of school?
As an English major, I have to read a wide variety of the classics. This semester alone I've read, "The Ponds" from Thoreau's Walden, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift, some of Edgar Allen Poe's short stories, and so many more... I can't even keep track of how many I've had to read. Despite the fact that I have enjoyed them (some more than others) I find it hard to keep up with my reading, simply because reading the classics takes a lot more time than reading modern day fiction. Most of the books have footnotes as well as definitions in the margins which have me trying to figure out certain words, or the writing has so many hidden meanings that I have to think extra hard in order to understand what's going on. I think that if I didn't have to read these books in such a short time fram (sometimes only a couple days) I would enjoy them a lot more. I find myself wanting to go back and reread a lot of these books, without having to figure out the symbolism or the hidden meanings of things, but just for the content.
At the same time, I find myself wishing that I could easily identify hidden meanings or develop ideas about these stories. As an English major, I feel like finding things like this in a text should come easy to me, but it just doesn't. I'm obviously not the only one who feels this way, and sometimes close reading of a text is what you need to discover what the author's true message is, but I am always intimidated by my classmates who make these discoveries seemingly effortlessly. I know that this sort of thing doesn't come easy to most people, but I have this vision in my mind of being one of those pretentious people sitting around a fire, having a drink, and chatting about Thoreau and Emerson as if I know all about their lives and experiences. Which I don't. Nor do I wish to, because I think Thoreau was a hippy and reading Emerson is boring... but that's just me.
What's been your experience with the classics? Do you enjoy them for the content? Do you always understand the hidden meanings and symbolism involved? Have you gone back and reread some of the classics that you had to read in school?
