I didn't enjoy Shakespeare that much until I read "Antony & Cleopatra" and then I started worshiping him! I got to say even though I love Dickens when I read "Oliver Twist" some parts made me almost fell asleep. Probably due to the small font and I was reading it at night. I gave up eventually because I had more to read for faculty and then never gave it a second chance. Perhaps one day...
Originally Posted by TurkSlayer
Joyce and Steinbeck weren't mentioned because they're are brilliant.
I forgot to mention my ambivalence towards Dickens. Though he isn't bad.
Joyce IS brilliant, which is why I said I liked him. Steinbeck on the other hand doesn't deserve to have his name next to Joyce.
Joyce and Steinbeck weren't mentioned because they're are brilliant.
I forgot to mention my ambivalence towards Dickens. Though he isn't bad.
it's funny when people are dead wrong
I really didn't like Alice in Wonderland and I thought I was going to. I appreciate Joyce but I almost fell asleep a couple of times reading A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. And I've never understood any of the Dickens hate - people calling him dry etc. - Dickens's sentences are so refreshing and timeless, you just gotta give him a chance peeps.
I dunno, I personally like Shakespeare, I gotta go with Keith on this. I don't LOVE him, but I like him. He's a master of wit. Taming of the Shrew makes up for any gripe I've ever had with his writing.
Let's see if my opinion changes though after a semesters worth of intensive Shakespeare study in my Shakespeare class!
But I've been thinking about giving him another chance.
I don't understand how someone can read all of East of Eden and not be in love with steinbeckJoyce IS brilliant, which is why I said I liked him. Steinbeck on the other hand doesn't deserve to have his name next to Joyce.
Joyce and Steinbeck weren't mentioned because they're are brilliant.
I forgot to mention my ambivalence towards Dickens. Though he isn't bad.
His characters, for the most part, are interchangable, especially in the majority of his tragedies. This is more a fault of his writing style, which is extremely flowery and long-winded, than a fault of his characters being incredibly similar in almost every way.it's funny when people are dead wrong
Yeah, you're in trouble.
yepit's funny when people are dead wrong
I really do not see how anyone can possibly enjoy Emma by Jane Austen. It is just bad. Bad, bad bad bad.
I can't stand any of Shakespeare's tragedies. Comedies, okay. Tragedies? Lame.
Last edited by Ouch!; 08-17-2009 at 12:27 AM. Reason: GRAMMAR
ah, I forgot about your Doctorate of Literature and the fact that your opinion supercedes over 400 years of literary analysis. my mistake.His characters, for the most part, are interchangable, especially in the majority of his tragedies. This is more a fault of his writing style, which is extremely flowery and long-winded, than a fault of his characters being incredibly similar in almost every way.it's funny when people are dead wrong
Last edited by I Took the Red Pill; 08-17-2009 at 12:34 AM.
:tpg::tpg:?Yeah, you're in trouble.
I dunno. I suppose I may need to try another Vonnegut, but Cat's Cradle was a painful thing to read. If I hadn't been doing it for an optional English project (I thought it looked fantastic when I read the back cover!), I'd have given up halfway in. I guess it was a case of "fascinating story, uncharming writing and execution", to me.
Oh, and I loved To Kill A Mockingbird and the movie of it too. Oh Gregory Peck!
I'm glad to see that no one said Lord of the Flies. I really loved it. It's one of those books full of symbols and analysis that is easy to teach young High School students, with it still being very interesting. I tutored this girl with learning disabilities and this was the one book that really caught her attention and that she actually TRIED to understand and work with me with. Yet, it's enjoyable for people who really love literature too.
I dunno if she's exactly a classic, or just a very notable author, but I loved Ayn Rand as well. I'm a bit of an impatient reader because I tend to skim and read very fast, and I always pick up the important bits, though it detracts from my enjoyment of lines of description, which are often the most beautiful parts of a book (in fact, a highlighter and noting margins is my only hope sometimes in getting myself to read thoroughly and slower), but I took my time and read The Fountainhead over a month span, and I loved it.
I'm having a hard time talking about classics I dislike, there's really not too many. I usually have a good sense if I'll enjoy an author or not.
Last edited by Rye; 08-17-2009 at 12:41 AM.
I disliked Shakespeare for a long time.
Then I read The Tempest.
I don't know why Romeo and Juliet is held up as a big deal though, as it's pretty much his worst piece. I'm not a big fan of Macbeth, either.
I actually quite enjoyed Macbeth, though I agree comedy is where his best talents lie. Hamlet was pretty great as well, it had some very beautiful and practical lines. Neither a borrower nor a lender be... this above all: to thine own self be true.
Romeo and Juliet is so-so. I think it's mostly pushed out above the rest because it's supposed to be easy to teach because teens can relate or something of that sort.
I had to read Richard III, or Henry VI, one of those, for AP English and I refused to read anymore after a while. I despised it. Thank god for Sparknotes?
But overall, I do enjoy Shakespeare, though I can't say I'm amazing at analyzing it. I prefer my literature to be a painting, not a puzzle.
You also forgot we are in a thread about great pieces of literature and authors that we, personally, do not enjoy. Personally being the keyword of the entire thread.ah, I forgot about your Doctorate of Literature and the fact that your opinion supercedes over 400 years of literary analysis. my mistake.His characters, for the most part, are interchangable, especially in the majority of his tragedies. This is more a fault of his writing style, which is extremely flowery and long-winded, than a fault of his characters being incredibly similar in almost every way.it's funny when people are dead wrong
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