How to Read a Classic

[@cassandraclavesaint]

I usually don't read the introduction. Sometimes i read the footnotes if i feel it is necessary for a better understanding

[@tarrynclaassen9581]

When I first started out with the classics, I avoided all introductions due to spoilers. The thing that helped me along the most was reading the chapter, and if I found that I was not precisely clear about that chapter, I read the summary on SparkNotes - this was a tremendous help reading Wuthering Heights.

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

Reading the summary on SparkNotes after finishing a chapter is an excellent tool - I've done the same for difficult novels!

[@ankitapattanaik5451]

Hey Celine missed you so much. Thank you for this video ❤❤❤❤

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@jennyyeh4730]

Thank you for this guide !! I love your tips - they’re practical and real - honestly I do the wiki too and totally agree with you about the footnotes! I’m going to start doing it after every few chapters instead of flipping back and forth. Often there are spoilers there too… And I thank you so much for normalizing not getting everything !! I feel better to not understand everything in novels.. and I’m a native English speaker 😂

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

I'm always a bit frustrated when footnotes contain spoilers. Ha, yes! I had a professor at uni who was really honest about not understanding everything at first read either, which was really helpful. If even a professor sometimes needs to reread parts, then I really shouldn't feel bad for feeling the same 😊

[@joralemonvirgincreche]

The most fun classic I read was an old hardcover by Sir Walter Scott which I bought for $2. The pages were still uncut and the illustrations were etchings by J.M.W. Turner. No footnotes in that one. In terms of footnotes, they can definitely be annoying. If they're truly footnotes (at the bottom of the page), I usually read most of them. If they're endnotes, I'll just read that chapter's notes after I've finished the whole chapter so I don't interrupt my reading. I just finished a memoir where the footnotes were indicated by *, †, ‡, §, ‖, ¶ and the symbols inside the text were so tiny they were like dust motes, I read over them without seeing them and most of the notes were completely inconsequential so I was gasping with annoyance the entire book.

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

Gosh that sounds like an amazing find, a book with uncut pages! Completely agree with you regarding footnotes vs. endnotes. I think it's a shame endnotes are the norm, even in academic books. The constant leafing back and forth just does not bring joy. Oh no I cannot stand the symbols either - give me a good old number any day!

[@gracetaylor7351]

Good tips celine! I don’t read the intro all the time I just want read the story maybe after then I will but the intro are so long as well .same as the story .❤yes I don’t see alot of people do video of how to read a classic .

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

Thank you Grace, I'm glad you enjoyed the video!

[@NarendraNarala]

Hii 👋Celine , what are your book reading plans for next new year,can we know your plans for the chanel and content kindly we love to hear your thoughts about new year 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

Happy new year! I'm posting a video next Thursday all about my 2024 goals 😊

[@none8680]

Honestly some editors turn classic fiction into nonfiction with their notes.

[@joelharris4399]

👋👋O hello Celine! It's odd you didn't talk about the Classics in relation to the broader discourse on that vexing phrase, the Western Canon. (Anyone interested in the subject should consult the late Harold Bloom's The Western Canon." Perhaps it was better that way you didn't bring it up. Kind of divisive these days. Actually, it's sort of refreshing😊. I can tell you're passionate about your subject: squinting eyes, animated eyebrows, you talking directly to the camera, breaking the fourth wall😅 Hmm

[@TheEclecticLibrary]

The idea of the Western Canon is loaded with so much history; I've stayed away a little from tackling that topic full-on. Like you say, it's very divisive nowadays, especially surrounding the whole universities grappling with their own colonial pasts. I usually call anything a "classic" that is older than 70 years and that was important/influential for its cultural moment in some way, regardless of whether it is traditionally included in the Western Canon. I've really enjoyed talking about Dorothy Wordsworth, Nella Larsen, Mrs Seacole, and other people that don't fit the traditional mould. I really want to read more non-Western books next year as well! I just tend to be very animated generally haha

[@joelharris4399]

@@TheEclecticLibrary Good for you Celine. Yes, I think it is both timely as much as it is important to try to veer away from traditional texts not so much to relinquish the old, but rather in the name of expanding literary horizons and wrestling with new perspectives and ideas not in our comfort zone. So, do continue being animated, continue giving textual and inter-textual exegesis for literary works. Continue squinting to convey just how serious and not-so serious you are. Be yourself! ❤️👋👋

[@NarendraNarala]

Hii 👋Celine , what are your book reading plans for next new year,can we know your plans for the chanel and content kindly we love to hear your thoughts about new year 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@NarendraNarala]

Hii 👋Celine , what are your book reading plans for next new year,can we know your plans for the chanel and content kindly we love to hear your thoughts about new year 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉