/lit/ - Literature

>>19569990
So I actually have some insight into this because it's related to my dissertation. While A. C. Bradley's character-centric criticism of Shakespeare has fallen out of fashion, his theory of Shakespearean tragedy as human beings acting in finite time in ways that have infinite repercussions (to paraphrase) is really applicable for all 'grand' literature. This us why religious writing is often considered grand or epic, as well as writing that taps into universal human truths in a timeless manner, situated within a far greater metaphysical context.

With this in mind I would recommend the 'big three' epic poems (Iliad, odyssey, aeneid), both because they are 'epic' in th the sense you describe and because later epics frequently make allusions to them. Christian epics, for example, often meld the religious and the pagan, as in the Divine Comedy and Paradise Lost, both of which also fit the bill.

The Greek dramatists are likewise excellent, and the greatest hits of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides mostly fit the bill. Special mention goes to the Oresteia and Sophocles' Theban Plays.

Lastly here I would suggest Shakespeare's tragedies, particularly Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, Lear, Julius Caesar, and probably also The Tempest, even though it isn't a tragedy, because I think it also has that grand, universal, unfilmable quality you're looking for.

Bear in mind though that 'grand' works can sometimes lack feeling. Because they're so lofty, we can only look up at them, and experience at best mingled awe and respect. Shakespeare is an exception here because his works manage to be both grand and universal and intensely concerned with human experience to an unprecedented degree. Though I like the Divine Comedy very much, and respect it artistically, it did less to shape my own personal faith than novels like The Brothers Karamazov or Diary of a Country Priest.

It's ironic you dismiss Tolstoy, because I think War and Peace is the closest thing to it produced in the last couple of centures

>>18577705
... And many Literature students also take philosophy classes. The discourse at University level is clearly something I consider of high importance and unlocking those ideas - and helping students unlock them - is, I think, vital to producing high-quality members of society. Also, there is a degree of selfishness - I love my job and think I am good at it, and enjoy it. But 'don't become too focused on one thing', 'don't be obsessive' or 'don't bear a grudge' are banal platitudes, and meaningless, compared to having a student read and pay attention to Moby Dick.

>>18577753
I prefer metrical to free verse. Start with the sonnets. Sonnet 73 is one of my favourites. I also think Keats' Ode to a Nightingale is a good starting point, Stephen Fry does a good reading on YouTube so you can hear how it is said. Poetry is written to be spoken aloud. She walks in beauty by Lord Byron is also a good beginner's one. 'A Poetry Handbook' by Mary Oliver is the best beginner's guide to 'getting' poetry, and it's very short, only around 100 pages. The best poems are those that sustain multiple readings.

>>18577760
I believe that Gertrude is guilty of self-deception and acted in her own interest to secure her position in the state. She loved Hamlet her son but I am not convinced she held much of a flame for the late King. By acting in a purely logical, self-preserving manner (common of Shakespearean villains) I am unconvinced Shakespeare had much sympathy for her. I always really enjoyed Joyce's theory that Hamlet doesn't represent Shakespeare, but Shakespeare's dead son Hamnet; that the ghost of Hamlet Senior is Shakespeare, absent (as good as dead) in London, while his wife Gertrude/Ann Hathaway has an affair back in Stratford. Hamlet junior shows ambivalence towards Gertrude, but his ultimate farewell as she lies dying is 'wretched Queen, adieu!' - none of the Shakespearean sympathy left, there.

>>18577986
Yes, I was raised Catholic from birth but with poor catechism and left the Church for some years after confirmation. Reading the works of GK Chesterton, Thomas Merton, Newman, Augustine, and finally the philosophical framework underpinning the faith (Aristotlelian teleology, Aquinas etc) brought me back in my early twenties and I am now teach confirmation classes twice a month.

>>18578000
I've enjoyed almost every latin author I've read. Unpopular opinion is I wasn't sold on 100 years of solitude, the 'magical realism' goes too far for me sometimes. I prefer realism, and psychological realism especially. The Tunnel by Sabato is great and I like Borges and Bolano a lot.

>>18578030
Some people just aren't meant for it. We have (had?) an exam called the 11+ in the UK, which was essentially an IQ test taken at age 11 to measure your academic potential. If you scored above a certain threshold you were permitted to apply to Grammar Schools. Not everyone is suited to academic study and the presence of 'disruptors'... (cont)