I’m interested in working my way through as much of the classics of literature as I can. I majored in English literature in college, so I am familiar with the basics and have touched on a lot of it, but that was over ten years ago I would like to revisit everything now. I know there are many different beliefs about what makes “classic literature” and I’ve seen several examples of curriculums for studying it so I’m just hoping for some discussion over the merits of the different methodologies.
Here are some ideas I’ve seen in my research;
– Start with Shakespeare or the works of Homer (depending on how far back you want to start) as your jumping off point and work forward through history charting the influences as you make your way to the modern day.
– Find a list of the top 100 greatest novels of all time and work your way through that, and expanding on it based on what you personally find interesting.
– Read the top 10 works of each period of literature, Victorian, Renaissance, Modernist, Romantic, etc.
– Start with the great works of modern literature and work your way backwards tracing influences as far back as you can.
– Follow the published reading list of a great university literature program.
These are obviously only of some of the possibilities. Please give me your thoughts and opinions!
by Mr_Mike013