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Beginning your classics journey

So you want to begin reading classics, (or older books) but whenever you open the book, you're met by a bunch of words that don't make sense, paragraph-long sentences and weird spellings or expressions. I know the feeling, and some authors are definitely more guilty of this than others are (looking at you Victor Hugo), so here are a few classics that got me started on my own classics journey fairly early on!

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)

I think the beginning of the goodreads summary captures what this book means to be; "the dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty." Don't let that fool you, the only devil that appears in this story could be argued to be Dorian Gray himself.

One of my all time favourites, The Picture of Dorian Gray is on the shorter side, though no less impactful. Oscar Wilde's descriptive language is truly beautiful, and the strange narrative keeps you wondering how the novel will end. An overlooked part of this book is the preface, which is, in my opinion, a quite interesting and wise view on art and its use in the world. Though the very beginning of this book is quite wordy, the beauty comes if you bear with it through the first few pages.

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

Another shorter novel, this one follows a london legist as he invistigates a series of mysterious occurances surrounding his friend Dr. Henry Jekyll and the criminal Mr. Edward Hyde. Believed to be one of the defining pieces of literature in the horror genre, I greatly suggest this classic, as it is incredibly intruiging and is still referenced today in media, such as in Marvel's The Hulk. Perhaps that association can elude to the connection between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde...? Well, you may figure that one out for yourself.

A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare (1605)

Shakespeare is a man who is famous for his plays and poems, and in my english class for how annoying his iambic pentameter is to write properly. However, this isn't about his poetry, but his comedy that features faeries and ancient greek lovers, which is honestly my all time favourite Shakespeare play. You may know it for its appearance in the 1989 film Dead Poets Society, being the play in which Neil plays Puck.

The play, to quote my dear old friend wikipedia, "consists of five interconnecting plots, connected by a celebration of the wedding of Duke Theseus of Athens and the Amazon queen, Hippolyta", though is most famously known for the lovers' quarrel between Hermia, Lysander, Demetrius and Helena, which can most accurately be explained as the most heinous love square to exist. Hermia loves Lysander though her father insists she marry Demetrius, and Helena loves Demetrius, who is supposed to marry Hermia. It's quite a mess, though a fun one to read, and greatly recommend you do the same.

A Study In Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle (1887)

No classics list is complete without a mandatroy mention of Sherlock Holmes (yes, I consider dear old Sherlock a classic). Any of the Sherlock Holmes stories would be an honourable mention for this short list, but A Study In Scarlet is canonically the first Sherlock Holmes novel, the inspiration for the first episode of BBC's Sherlock, AND also the first piece of classical literature I've ever read, courtesy of my 5th grade English teacher. Thank you Henrik.

Sherlock Holmes is always quite fun, and in this one you are dragged by the heels by Dr. Watson as you follow Holmes around trying to solve the murder of Enoch Drebber. Now, I won't say too much, as this one is pretty well known, but the Doyle novels can be what thrusts you deeper down the well of classical literature.

There you have it, a small list of some novels that can possibly make you need to read some old(er) books, and finally feel intellectualy superior, included in certain conversations or whatever it is you wish to gain by beginning this journey.

Happy reading!

-Cami