Great literary works pile up on our shelves, often with guilt, because we have not read them, or, if we have, have not known how to plumb their depths, especially books from antiquity. I firmly believe in order to read old books, one must first read what shapes them and comes before them. So if I were to compile a list, or a syllabus, of how to read the books on your shelves, here's how I would begin.
[NB: This unfortunately only pertains to Western literature and thought, and cannot apply to the pleasant depths of Asian, or even necessarily, all of European literature.]
1. The Bible. Or if you don't have time, The Children's Bible or the Books of Isaiah and Matthew. This gives you enough of Biblical symbolism and nature of God to proceed to other texts.
2. The Republic, Book VII. Plato. The section on "The Cave." While all of ancient philosophy has far reaching effects, this is accessible and not too intangible.
3. The Iliad. Homer. Not only a story of gods and men, buts its effect is eternal and defines the eipc. The complex ladder of human (and god) motivation, its cause and effect, perhaps reaches its height in the wrath of Achilles, as Homer explores the complexities and intracacies of human emotion.
4. The Odyssey. Homer. If you really can't stomach Homer and have to choose between these two, read The Odyssey. It's a story about getting home and has one of the best matched couples in all of (literary) history.
5. The Aeniad. Virgil. Picking up from where the Illiad leaves off, this story is about the founding of Rome. It also includes one of the most popular love affairs of all time with the appearance of Queen Dido.
6. Layamon or Wace's The Brut. Ok so we have all these classical stories. So what? That's exactly what Layamon and Wace sought to correct. This is Brutus leaving Rome to found Britain. It's recasting the Classical into a British setting.
7. The History of the Kings of Britain. Geoffrey of Monmouth. So many fun stories about those early kings. What was Britain before or after the Romans? Where did King Lear come from? And best, the origin of King Arthur!
8. Morte D'Arthur. Malory. The tales of Arthur are recast in nearly every generation, but where did the "original" tale come from? Both poignant and funny, this gives an idea of accessible Middle English.
9. [To be very thorough, I would suggest a few Lives of Saints, especially if you're interested in art history, as many saints stories are used as subjects. I'd recommend The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine. In the same vein, read The Metamorphoses (Ovid) for Classical tales of gods and men, that wind themselves into art subjects the most. Not essential.]
10. The Divine Comedy. Dante. All three. Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise. Most teachers only teach the Inferno and leave their students in Hell. How contemptible! If wanting to abridge, read the beginning and ending cantos of each book.
11. St. George and the Dragon. Spenser. Especially if you're English, re-interpretations of this are everywhere! It combines the duties of a Christian saint with those of a Medieval knight, and never fails to bring tears to my eyes.
12. Finally, end with Milton's Paradise Lost. This is an imitation of the Old Epic recast into Christian, particularly, spiritual terms. Whoever would have though Satan could be a sympathetic character?
Not only will these twelve books compound upon and reference each other, but also provides a short history of Western thought. This also lays a foundation for reading modern texts. T.S. Eliot's Wasteland suddenly makes (more) sense, as does Shaw's Pygmalion. One understands where Shakespeare gets his King Lear and Tennyson the subject for his Idylls. Best of all, you have filled nearly all the essential gaps, leaving literature from the entire Western world, entirely open at your disposal, to read with confidence in whatever order you please.
1 comment:
The Divine Comedy has been sitting on my shelf for quite some time. I should give it a dusting.
Post a Comment