Archived threads in /lit/ - Literature - 779. page
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>goes to /lit/ just to validate himself as a pseudo-intellectual
>belittles and competes with other pseudo-intellectuals
>forces his subjective taste in books
>subjective opinion of others
>over-generalization
You are just as bad
>subjective taste in books
found the /redditor/
lol he goes on the literature board and argues about literatures!! what a loser!! upboats all round
What is the best strategy to start reading Middle English? I don't really see the value in a translation for a stage of English so similar to our own. Should I just sit down with a well-annotated edition of Chaucer and read until I get it? How should I approach texts like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight whose language is made more difficult by borrowing from Norse?
>>7825787
What you need to understand is that Middle English, all the way up until Chaucer, isn't really its own independent language so much as a clusterfuck of Anglo-Norman, French, German, Scandinavian, Latin and then further hindered by a lack of any established overarching grammatical rules. Even in reading the later works I would highly recommend either a grammar guide book or a Middle English dictionary through the internet.
While it does initially make the language seem like a meaningless transitory stage lacking in sophistication and very few great literary works, in actuality it lends it a fluidity and creativity that few languages have ever been able to equal.
Take "Mayden, moder milde" from the Harley manuscript as an example.Notice the symmetrical line switches between French and English, the fluid rhyming structure and the complex portrayal of Mary as both mother of Jesus and mother of a son who chose to die for reasons she can't fully understand:
¶ Mayden, moder milde,
Oiez cel oreysoun.
From shome thou me shilde,
E de ly mal feloun;
For love of thine childe,
Me menez de tresoun.
Ich wes wod ant wilde;
Ore su en prisoun.
Thou art feyr ant fre,
E plein de douçour.
Of the sprong the ble,
Ly soverein Creatour.
Mayde, byseche Y the
Vostre seint socour.
Meoke ant mylde, be with me
Pur le sue amour.
Tho Judas Jesum founde,
Donque ly beysa;
He wes bete ant bounde,
Que nous tous fourma.
Wyde were is wounde
Qe le Gyw ly dona.
He tholede harde stounde,
Me poi le greva.
On ston ase thou stode,
Pucele, tot pensaunt,
Thou restest the under rode:
Ton fitz veites pendant;
Thou seye is sides of blode,
L'alme de ly partaunt.
He ferede uch an fode
En mound que fust vivaunt.
Ys siden were sore;
Le sang de ly cora.
That lond was forlore,
Mes il le rechata.
Uch bern that wes ybore
En enfern descenda;
He tholede deth therfore,
En ciel puis mounta.
Tho Pilat herde the tydynge,
Molt fu joyous baroun;
He lette byfore him brynge
Jesu Nazaroun.
He was ycrouned kynge
Pur nostre redempcioun.
Whose wol me synge
Avera grant pardoun.
The Canterbury Tales, Sir Gawain and Le Mortre D'Arthur are all some of the greatest stories ever written, but they are written in a later Middle English that doesn't really capture the many faceted creative clusterfuck that is real Middle English lit.
Check out Ancrene Wisse, The Ormulum and The Peterborough Chronicle for some real Philological adventure.
>>7825831
Did people seriously use this as a language? This is literally half French and half English with what seems like German randomly thrown in
>>7825910
Absolutely, this was a time when the large majority of the population spoke what was spoken around them, and England was the most multicultural country in Europe.
Does anyone know either of these authors? (Mirko Jelusich and Ferdinand Kögl.) I'll read them eventually, just curious what I'm in for.
Also general German lit thread. Did anything come from that one Anon's German literature poll a week or two ago?
>>7825739
bump out of interest
In my experience, German writers are shit. Trust me. I'm an expert on my opinion of German literature.
>>7826654
Okay, thanks for your contribution.
Is Tao lin's awkward way of speaking an affectation? Like he puts it on because people have convinced him that he's a special artist? It really annoys me a lot.
>>7825568
It's not an affectation. His brain is fried from all the drugs.
I have spoken to him several times in Brooklyn and Manhattan. That is how he talks. If you don't like, the solution is not to listen to him. It's not like he's on TV or radio all day. You have to seek him out to hear his voice. You are a fucking asshole.
>>7826164
wow id heard you browsed /lit/
Who else would love to fuck off and loaf about like Larry?
me me me
What did he blow all his cash on before going back?
But he didn't loaf the whole time, he worked in a coal mine which is difficult and dangerous work.
Postcolonial literature is the best re-writing of classic and modern literature.
>>7825481
Is this legit?
>>7826402
Yep
>>7825481
looks kind of cool. seems closer to crime and punishment than american psycho though
Hey /lit/,
I'm about to start reading the bible, but I'm not quite sure where to start. I'm reading mostly for cultural/literary/historical significance and I'm probably going to read stuff from both the old and new testaments. What do you guys think are the essential books to read?
I've already decided on the first 5 books of the Old Testament (Torah) but I'm not sure what else is super important. I've got the Apocrypha with me as well.
Thanks,
Anon
>>7825463
Bumpity
>>7825463
Self-Bump
I'm sure someone here knows a thing or two about the Bible
>>7825463
>I've already decided on the first 5 books of the Old Testament (Torah)
Those are the only ones I've read in full. I started off doing exactly what you are (and for the same purpose) late last year.
Bumping because I am interested as well.
I am assuming the whole New Testament since it's quite short.
Anybody here read this one? Would you recommend it?
>The Scavpet Gospeh
Anyone?
>>7825506
sorry, still trying to make out the title... scarvel goipili? something like that.
why is this book praised so much? reading it was a chore desu
it's painfully american (muh individualism, muh society is bad, muh do what i want), but it was done in a very sympathetic way. the chief character narration was done very well and the book was fun to read.
it's praised because it captures a certain time period/attitude of american culture extremely well. few serious readers would laud it as a timeless global masterpiece, but it does what it does well.
>>7825234
>muh individualism, muh society is bad, muh do what i want
We've got a live berniecuck over here, folks
>>7825240
that's a negative ghostrider
>taking 4chan memeing as indicative of someone's views
wew lad, this your first day here?
More early furry shit?
What i love about RtT is that dumb "fascists" are physically unable to read it.
God bless Evola, who trolls pseudo intellectuals since 1961.
>>7825053
*tips copy of communist manifesto*
ebola was the original diaper furry after being hit by that shrapnel
why the fuck does it even exist? why would anyone read it? why is it necessary in modern western novel tradition?
It's like an Oscar's Speech. No one really cares, but it's there anyway. Although, everyone loosely pays attention to it, halfassedly, but so if something amazing happens they can catch it. Rarely ever happens though.
>>7825034
>thanking for ghostwriting
I always laugh when it comes out
Because it's nice to give credit to those who made the novel possible but otherwise would go unacknowledged. Why does it bother you?
has anyone read the new Yann Martel book and know where I can get it for less than $20? Some punk already checked it out of the library.
then put it on hold?
>>7825021
The chimp is Jesus
>>7825021
>author of LIFE OF PI
>read
>has
>wants to
>literature
>implications
Why do you act as if the judgement of art is objective? Why do you think you can get published if you're not living in New York or London and previously went to an Ivy League or Oxbridge university.
It is. Truth is in me. The truth of art is only in how I bend it to my use. There is no truth in art external to me and so it's truth is objective.
>>7825005
did you just look at recent threads to come up with an idea of the current userbase, then try to troll as many people as possible?
>no this is a real and literary thread :^)
here's your (you)
Homer sure went to Oxford.
So I found this book for free and just finished it and I was wondering if you guys could help me figuring out why The Great Gatsby is such an acclaimed book, since many of you probably studied it in American Highschool.
I'm guessing it's notable for painting a picture of life in the 1920s, and the changing dynamic of love and marriage in the United States during the time period. Would that be a good assumption or not?
The other thing is what's the deal with the title? Why is Gatsby great? Is it some kind of anachronistic meaning of great like "Alexander the Great" or something? Or is it just because he's wealthy and shares his wealth freely with strangers and is an honest man but the jealousy of the people around him drags him down andkills him?
It's an interesting story with interesting characters and an extremely economical use of language for the kind of character and class portraits that it's able to make.
This thread is posted every week. Are people really expecting the book to be stellar because it's taught in high schools so much? It's taught so much because it's easy to read and short and good and American history.
>>7824991
I didn't say it was a bad book, I was just wondering why it's taught in American schools because I'm from Canada. I don't think Canada has a book like the Great Gatsby which is a shame because I like the simplicity of the story and the short length.
>>7824986
The ending was silly.
Hi /lit/, I´ve been an avid reader during my youth, having grown up with Harry Potter, Oliver Twist and other books. After a few years of a video game binge, I recently began to read Sir Thomas Mallorys Le Morte de Artur. And I kind of want to read other Mythologys.
Sor are there any Mythology you would recommend reading and why?
read whatever you want. come back when you want to discuss something you've read
>>7824980
>Sor are there any Mythology you would recommend reading and why?
Yes. Get the D'aulaires' books on Greek and Norse mythology. They are wonderful.
>>7825384
Does this book delve into the esoteric and allegorical meaning of mythology?
