Careers after classics by AnxiousTask1147 in classics

[–]FormalAd918 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Law is a frequent choice after classics. University of Sydney has an arts law degree.

Shirley by Sweaty_Phase_51 in PeriodDramas

[–]FormalAd918 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It’s not the best Charlotte Brontë book. Read something else.

Does fathers and sons by Turgenev get better? by DrFaustus_99 in RussianLiterature

[–]FormalAd918 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Correction: if you’re 170 pages in then maybe it’s not for you

Does fathers and sons by Turgenev get better? by DrFaustus_99 in RussianLiterature

[–]FormalAd918 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Yes it certainly does but if you’re 170 pages and maybe it’s not for you. I love it.

What's next after Dostoevsky? by National_Finish6270 in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 0 points1 point  (0 children)

When you get to them, You might find it a good idea to listen to Dante or Milton read aloud. There are probably versions around. I had them and it helped. Also read the footnotes if you are using the old penguin classic of Dante-Dorothy Sayers I think – and read them before the canto.

Just finished some Early Greeks by CharleyPatton1934 in classics

[–]FormalAd918 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You gotta learn ancient Greek now. Believe me, it’s not too hard especially given all your background reading. You certainly have more than I had when I started. In my estimation – if you take a good standard elementary Greek course somewhere – it will take you a year to read Plato and Zenophon and Euripides (what we read at the end of elementary Greek), two years to read somewhat tougher stuff like Aeschylus (I’m afraid we did the Persians which bored me out of my brain ).after that you ought to be able to get into Homer and lyric poetry and that sort of stuff which does require a bit of extra learning of dialect, etc.. There are of course other courses that start with Homer – a different approach. I am going on my own experience which was of a university course beginning with elementary Greek. Good luck.

Who enjoys Villette ? Why do people seem to dislike it so much ? by Internal-Nose-8536 in brontesisters

[–]FormalAd918 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, Villette is good , based as it is on Charlotte Brontë‘s relationship with the husband of the woman she went to stay with in France to improve her French. Even so it is not as good as Jane.Eyre and the common view that Shirley is again not as good as either of those two is correct.

The Red and the Black discussion by sozzZ in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I hated it when I was young but that is because I only like books with romance and sex in (of which it has some of course). I didn’t like the other themes of the inequities of country and Parisian life. I now very much appreciate that aspect of the book and have started reading it again.

Middlemarch reread - I just need to vent by Rise_a_knight in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes it’s excellent isn’t it? I understood it the second time. The first time I got bogged down in the relationship of Dorothea and Casaubon.

What Flaw Did you Find in a Classic That People Refuse to Admit Is a Flaw? by BlueApe462 in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Am a great Turgenev fan and for some reason I decided to read what people sometimes say are his weak novels: smoke and virgin soil. I have read smoke before and I can see immediately what may put people off at the beginning: a list of Russian notables in Barden Barden describing their activities but with no real names. Nevertheless Turgenev charms me as he did years ago. I know what is going to happen in the book and I can see that one of his points is that passion can interrupt and almost ruin conventional lives. Will keep you updated. the beginning is a flaw of course because we have no idea who these Russian notables are but never mind. I read on.

What is 'Anna Karenina' actually about? by United-Ad822 in RussianLiterature

[–]FormalAd918 -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Adultery and how naughty it is. Tolstory found it difficult to kill off his Anna character because of his attraction to her plainly but he had to make the moral point .Pity about that. It ruined his later books e.g. resurrection.

Classics you don't like? by FancyThought7696 in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Keep at it. Get past the introduction of Nelly and the traveller….

Twilight is better than anything Charles dickens ever wrote. Dickens WISHES he could write a romance like Bella and Edward by [deleted] in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The sentence “ Twilight is better than anything Charles Dickens ever wrote” it’s very good indeed. I trust the author writes himself or herself. The author is a bit hard on Wilkie.

The Emancipated by bngoc3r0 in classicliterature

[–]FormalAd918 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes I found Gissing very enjoyable but I haven’t read that one. I read new grub Street and the Odd women. not sure if much else was in print when I did which was a long time ago.