Why read classics?
Someone once remarked in a conversation that classics are often overrated. I enjoy reading them and have gotten a great deal out of them, so I tried to explain their appeal. I thought I’d share my answer here, too.
What makes them worth reading
My first thought was the distinctive way their authors approached things. Two people can explore the same idea or tell much the same story and produce very different works. An author’s choice of what to emphasize and how to present it can change how we understand a familiar subject. That’s part of the appeal of many classics. Later authors may have built on those approaches and produced something we like even more, but we can still appreciate what made the originals so compelling.
The stories themselves matter as well. Take Superman, for example. There were heroic figures before him, but he helped establish the superhero as we know it. His early adventures gave readers someone with extraordinary powers who used them to stand up for others. That appealed to people then, and it still does! You might think there are much better superhero stories now, but reading the early comics gives you a chance to understand what first caught readers’ imaginations. You can see what those stories meant to people at the time and find out what they have to offer you.
But their influence didn’t end with those first readers. So much of modern thought and culture has grown out of earlier works. We encounter their ideas through later authors, often without realizing where they came from or how much they’ve changed along the way. Reading the originals helps us understand those connections. If you’re interested in a genre, its classics can tell you a great deal about how it developed. You may even return to a favorite work and appreciate the significance of something you’d barely noticed before.
Style, story, and significance
Looking over these reasons, I noticed I had a trio. Naturally, I wanted a nice way to put them together.
That brought to mind Muhammad Ali’s description of what his trainer had helped him develop: “my style, my stamina and my system.” I loved the rhythm of it and wondered whether something similar would work here.
Style already fit what I’d been saying about each author’s distinctive approach. The stories themselves gave me story. That left the wider importance and influence of these works. Significance!
Style, story, and significance. Beautiful! And the alliteration is certainly a nice bonus.
I hope that gives you some sense of what classics can offer, and perhaps a reason to try one you’ve been curious about. A work that influenced an author you love or explores a subject that interests you could be a good place to start. You might find more to enjoy in it than you expected.