What is Classic English Literature?

To relate to a classic work one must look at its historical significance, artistic value or cultural relevance. Time-tested novels by Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, Mark Twain, and other leaders encapsulated life in all of its essence encompassing different times and societies. For learners of English, classics are worth reading not only to better understand the language, but to grapple with complex ideas, themes and historical factors – even though the word usage is often difficult. Undoubtedly, classics are difficult; however, there is a pay-off in their vast vocabulary and complex language.

How Is It Beneficial to Read Classic Literature in the Context of Language Learning?

Classic literature is particularly beneficial to English learners for a few reasons. It allows for contact with more sophisticated vocabulary, various styles of writing, and numerous themes, thus richening the understanding and the knowledge of words. Here are some of the unique benefits of reading the classics:

1. Expanding Vocabulary

Many classical novels use words and phrases that are not commonly used in most spoken dialogue, but rather use more formal and descriptive types of language.

2. Historical And Cultural Background

In their very essence, most classic novels try to portray what the society was like during their specific time period. These eras and lifestyles can act as a very significant tool to make your learning much more fun and productive.

3. Enhancing Comprehension Skills

Classic works are often elaborate and require readers to grapple with layered meanings, multiple clauses and figurative language. This enhances reading turnaround owing to the fact complexity in wording forces a reader to grow.

4. Addressing Common Themes

Several classic works are centred around family, war, sacrifice, humanity, and justice. Knowing such topics expands understanding and awareness.

For Starting Readers, Which Classics To Choose

The type of book that you choose is fundamental to how your classic literature journey is going to go. For slow readers, it is recommended to begin with pieces that are easy to read and are not too long. Get some books that have simple wording and easy to understand subjects so you would enjoy the overall reading process.

Examples of Classics which Beginners Can Read:

1. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain – A young boy growing up in a small town in America and having fun with friends, while going on many adventures.
2. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen – A humorous love story that looks at family issues and expectations of society.
3. Animal Farm by George Orwell - A well-known 20th century fable that highlights the theme of power along with the arena of corruption that takes place in and around a barnyard.

When working on new material, you should strive to begin with less difficult text. This will help you build confidence and help you understand how traditional writers wrote. As you progress, you may start tackling more taxing texts with your developing reading skills.

Decoding the Language of Classical Literature

The language one comes across in the classical English literature is somewhat archaic in the sense that it is quite different from the English one currently uses. A lot of novels that can be lost in translation are usually heavy on the formal language and use phrases that were popular in the era in which the book was written. Knowing how to cross such distinctions will make reading much clearer and more fun.

Old Words and Phrases

Some common old English words and phrases tend to be indicators of classic novels. E.g. A century ago English speakers used to write with words like you or thy, today these phrases are uncommon. Learning a few old words will ease your understanding of the storyline.
Example: In Hamlet, William Shakespeare wrote "To thine own self be true". Thine is an older variant of the word 'your'. Knowing such phrases will help you understand why language carries a formality and rhythm to its sentences.

Lengthy Sentences

Classic authors tend to write sentences that are very long, sometimes consisting of multiple clauses. They would use long-winded sentences and adjoins, so when one views the text the setting and characters are deeply defined through the feelings and interactions within society, similar to how Dickens and Austen did it.
Tip: For example, if a long sentence is being read, it commands a much more intricate analysis of the core phrases and ideas of the sentence. Doing this would in fact allow you to grasp the array of thoughts that the author intended to convey.

Use of Language

Metaphors, similes, and symbols are often used in literary works to enrich the language by placing importance on specific aspects. These devices are utilised by writers to elevate their stories, which can sometimes be difficult to grasp because of the complications the text becomes.
Example: I Pride and Prejudice, Elizabeth Bennet's 'prejudice' and her changing view of Mr Darcy when 'pride' depicts Elizabeth's 'Change'. Such examples can better the way and deepen the understanding within the reader.

Literature from an Era

Classical novels are different from other modern day ones and thus need to be treated accordingly. So here are a few tips that will make sure you can read the classic literature more easily and get the most out of it in terms of entertainment.

1. Begin with Short Parts or Chapters

While reaching one complete chapter through a single reading is something most classic story readers tend to do, breaking the chapter into smaller parts can be beneficial. Most classic readings contain difficult vocabulary hence taking breaks gives time for the material to settle into the reader's brain.
Tip: Try and read a couple of pages every single day. You will be more tuned to reading over time allowing you to read without getting exhausted. Episodic reading will now be easier.

2. Try to Analyse Using Context Clues About New Terminologies

Any unfamiliar word can arise while reading a classic book, in such case one can always use the context of the paragraph instead of immediately referencing a dictionary to find the meaning. Old books including classic literature is a great way of practising this, as many words used in the past are no longer used.
Example: For instance, Jane Eyre of Charlotte Bronte calls a moor as land that is vast and unplowed, from the surrounding text, it's skyrocketing apparent eight most is a particular kind of terrain.

3. Always Summarise as You Read Through a Book or Story

Once you feel you have diligently read through a chapter or a considerable part of the book, such a great practice is making a note in your own words what you have read. This builds a more core understanding regarding the story, characters, and the sub plots present in the story. A resume in different words also helps connect recent reads to previous reads and also helps in remembering focal points of the plot when reading further into the storyline.
Tip: Create a Useful Notebook In which you would be writing names of characters, important events as well as important quotes. This practice can assist in following classical literature as well as improve relations with the material.

4. Textual annotations – what are they and how do I do it?

To annotate a text means to write notes in the margins of the text or to place lines under passages. Engaging complements such as notes on the text and highlights or phrases of interest can aid in better understanding the text. When combined with active reading, it most definitely enhances language comprehension.

5. Share Your Thoughts About the Novel with other Readers

Engaging in conversations with acquaintances or family regarding certain classical literature pieces can enhance the readers' understanding of the book in an impressive way. By engaging with characters or the theme and even the diction of the writer can help understand things that would have previously been left ambiguous. Many concepts and ideas can be shared that increases one's self assurance and reinforces learning.
Tip: Try to find readers who are members of a book club or an online forum in which the readers are focused on classical literature. This makes the reading a bit more fun and insightful.

Using Resources to Improve Reading Comprehension

There are multiple resources which can aid any reader in breaking down the barrier that is classic literature. Such aids include summaries and even vocab so the reader would be able to tackle classic pieces easier.

Study guides and their outlines

As we delve into classic fiction, it is important to conceive all its illustrations from the beginning. That's why so many focus on studying guides, for instance, covering all the chapters, analysing individual characters, and defining core ideas and concepts. They are quite useful when one embarks on a tough book from a sensitive genre, as they sort of flesh it up in relation to itself.
With regards to the above, SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, which provide an outline of and commentary on most works masterpieces considered as classics, can be deemed as popular study guides. It is no surprise that people would read chapter summaries before reading the actual text. The idea in tackling the perspective of the text never changes; the expectations and/or assumptions are confirmed or contradicted.

Word Banks

As a rule, classic novels possess a lot of difficult words. This is the primary reason why almost all the classic novels are provided with vocabulary lists or glossaries. Nowadays more and more people manage to find word banks on the net. This practice first permits one to avoid interruptions when reading as it is in the case when one grapples with new vocabulary.

Audio Books

What quite a number of scholars have ignored is the fact that auditory tone, pronunciation and even sentence structure can be easily understood with the use of an audio book on a classic text. Moreover, it allows an individual to simultaneously read and listen. This is particularly important in the case of complex or archaic languages.