/lit/ - Literature

"I am very Quiet. Let the Months and years come, they can take nothing from me, they can take nothing more. I am so alone, and so without hope that I can confront them without fear. The Life that has borne in me through these years is still in my hands and my eyes. whether I have subdued it, I know not. But as long as it is there it will seek its own way out, heedless of the will that is within me."

I cried.

Do you feel that most 'classics' live up to the hype? Do you feel that any authors in particular are overrated? Any who are severely underrated?

Please rank the following in terms of their relative importance to making great literature (most important to least important).

(1) story line/plot
(2) character(s)
(3) prose/ structure
(4) theme/message (if applicable)
(5) other (name)

Bonus points if you explain your reasoning.

this
Oedipus Rex
The Cask of Amontillado

>dat feel when Paul has been dead the whole time