/lit/ - Literature

>>17660965

Hello /lit/,
I'd like to share with you some insight that occurred to me while reading Thomas Hardy. I am in the middle of Jude the Obscure and decided to reread a chapter instead of moving forward from where I left off. For some reason, the prose was suddenly different, even more vibrant than the first time I had read the section. On my first read I paid attention mostly to the words used, but this time I was led to pay special attention to the punctuation as well. What resulted from this was my experiencing why Hardy truly deserves the title of genius.

This moment made me realize the reason I am so obsessed with gatekeeping, maintaining the title of "greatness" only for those whom deserve it, reading the classics, and the reason I am so so so so so intolerant of genre fiction and the relativism that has tried to erase the supremacy of the canon; it is because taste must be refined. I always knew this to be the case, but in this moment I really understood. I had read these passages without realizing the genius of balance and power which Hardy is pulling off. Only through practice and dedication could I come to see it in a form which I had missed before.


I'd love to share this passage with you. It's about a 1/4 of the way through the book and isn't really giving away any major spoilers.
Pay attention to the punctuation and how the clauses interact with one another. He has a way of contrasting the emotional weight of his sentences/paragraphs.