Ibn Khaldun lived in the... I want to say 14th century in North Africa, and wanted to write a world history. He well may have done, too, but posterity only really cares for the superb introduction to it (muqaddimah is Arabic for "introduction" or "prologue", which has a number of extremely modern-sounding ideas on economics, sociology and their influence on history. He analyses things like power structures, the differences between rural and urban communities, tribal nomadic cultures transitioning into sedentary ones, economic concepts, and so on. I've read even less of him than of the Greek and Latin authors, as I read even slower in (hard) Arabic than in those languages, but I was very impressed by what I did read.
That sounds interesting.
As for the Dutch ones, I imagine you'd be able to read them if you tried, what with Norwegian being closet Dutch. Hooft is a 16th century history and poet, wrote Petrarca-esque sonnets and iirc some history on rhyme that I've never bothered to read. Vondel is a bit later, poet and playwright, and notable for having written a play, Lucifer, which is a likely influence on Milton's Paradise Lost (we have reason to believe Milton knew enough Dutch to read it).
I will not be reading Dutch poetry in Dutch, thank you very much. Prose I might handle. Not potery.
I agree. On all counts. Except I haven't read Achterberg and this Elroy Flecker person. I did not list Borges, but that was only because I got paranoid about period. I felt that if I was going to list him, I would have to list Calvino, and that would open a can of worms. It is silly. I think it is because Borges is so post-modern in outlook, while writing earlier.
I like both Virgil and Dickens, but I can see how some might not. Or how you might hesitate to approach them. It is a little like the image of Tolstoy's War and Peace that is bandied about. None of them are actually what they are presented as. Dickens is cheery much of the time, and almost always end on a happy ending. Virgil does draw on Greek myth, but it really transforms it, and I think anyone interested in history will find it fascinating.
Makes sense. I think I actually may have read a prose summary of the Aeneid, or some such... but not the real thing. I'm sure I'll read them at some point.
If you want to start easy on Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities or The Mystery of Edwin Drood might be good. Little Dorrit and Bleak House (paradoxically) are both quite happy in the end. For some. Not all.
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
structured procrastinator
The Classics - general discussion / survey
30/09/2010 03:52:53 PM
- 1323 Views
My own answers.
30/09/2010 04:38:33 PM
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Re: My own answers.
30/09/2010 09:02:08 PM
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Powdered Soup!
30/09/2010 09:23:51 PM
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Re: Powdered Soup!
30/09/2010 09:34:06 PM
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Re: Powdered Soup!
30/09/2010 10:07:20 PM
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Well, have you seen any of the Austen TV/movie adaptations, then?
30/09/2010 10:25:58 PM
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Oh yes. I even made the mistake of purchasing the new Pride and Prejudice for her.
01/10/2010 12:10:05 AM
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Cliff's notes
05/10/2010 08:05:56 PM
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A classic is really any book with enduring value.
30/09/2010 05:33:35 PM
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Re: A classic is really any book with enduring value.
30/09/2010 06:46:02 PM
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Re: A classic is really any book with enduring value.
30/09/2010 10:57:23 PM
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Re: A classic is really any book with enduring value.
30/09/2010 11:39:16 PM
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I really need to read Kundera. I've heard nothing but praise for Unbearable Lightness. *NM*
30/09/2010 08:46:18 PM
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I could post you over a copy to borrow.
30/09/2010 08:58:08 PM
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That is very kind, but I have far too much to do to read non-school books, unfortunately.
30/09/2010 10:53:23 PM
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Haven't read any other Kundera, but yes, that one is very enjoyable. *NM*
30/09/2010 09:50:30 PM
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I found his other books to be pale copies of The Unbearable Lightness of Being. *NM*
30/09/2010 10:51:55 PM
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I study them, apparently.
30/09/2010 08:44:40 PM
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I wish I could do that.
30/09/2010 09:49:57 PM
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Less fun than you'd think.
30/09/2010 10:52:10 PM
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More admiration of your discipline than assuming you were having fun with it.
01/10/2010 12:31:06 AM
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Re: The Classics - general discussion / survey .. edited.
30/09/2010 08:58:14 PM
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I knew you would have a rather lengthy list. I was worried until the edit came through.
01/10/2010 02:26:34 AM
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Good survey.
30/09/2010 10:23:18 PM
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Agreed. edited
30/09/2010 10:37:48 PM
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But but but Milton is beautiful
30/09/2010 10:46:06 PM
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Sometimes.
30/09/2010 10:47:28 PM
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I'm glad you approve on the whole.
30/09/2010 11:12:00 PM
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I generally do.
30/09/2010 11:19:05 PM
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Excellent. Might as well include a Hooft poem anyway, in case anyone's interested...
30/09/2010 11:40:24 PM
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Re: Excellent. Might as well include a Hooft poem anyway, in case anyone's interested...
30/09/2010 11:43:20 PM
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Ah Cliff, I bow to thee
30/09/2010 11:30:41 PM
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Re: Ah Cliff, I bow to thee
01/10/2010 03:18:58 AM
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Re: Ah Cliff, I bow to thee
01/10/2010 05:20:10 AM
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Re: Ah Cliff, I bow to thee
01/10/2010 02:05:35 PM
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I will not list 300+ books here, I promise
01/10/2010 12:36:17 AM
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O'Connor is wonderful. But I am not sure many can appreciate her.
01/10/2010 02:50:54 AM
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Criminy, I thought I was done with essay questions years ago.
01/10/2010 01:39:56 AM
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the bf and I are going to do a "Paradise Lost" book club...
02/10/2010 08:29:38 AM
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