lists of 'Classics' one should read from the beginning to now.

[JediFonger]

i'd like to see a list where they give a list of 'classic fiction' from the beginning of the written tradition. i'm assuming it is Homer's Odyssey/Illiad, etc.. then afterwards i dunno... what's a good place to look for a list to go about reading classics chronologically through the ages. like paradise lost, milton, dante's inferno, etc. etc. etc. anyone got any lists? make lists?

[tommytucker]

bible, fiction. eh?
tommy.

[Capnplank]

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,6903,1061037,00.html
I believe this is some list some folks compiled that is for novels only, starting with Don Quixote and moving chronologically. So your Greek whatnots and Bible stuff or Middle English and so forth won't be on it, but it's not too bad after that.

A few changes in any Google search will pop up a couple different lists. Modern Library has a top 100 novels and top 100 something else list. I also saw a college reading list on some search that wasn't far off from the Modern Library or the one this link is for...

[JediFonger]

sorry about the Bible stuff... taken it down =). i was thinking world lit in general.

[verybaddmom]

jedi, personally i dont think there was any reason to delete that portion of your post. the bible is literature, and COULD be argued to be a work of fiction. i think that if we want to argue about the reality of the story line we could move over to the religious threads. if we want to ask about literature classics in chronological order, you are definitely in the right place.
relax and dont be so quick to self edit. you are doing fine. welcome to the boards, btw. enjoy yourself

[emily655321]

*jumps up and down* Whaaaa?? Bible...fiction...edit... I get the gist of it, but I missed something... What did I mi-i-iss? See, this is what I get for sleeping all day.

[Koa]

jedi, personally i dont think there was any reason to delete that portion of your post. the bible is literature, and COULD be argued to be a work of fiction. i think that if we want to argue about the reality of the story line we could move over to the religious threads. if we want to ask about literature classics in chronological order, you are definitely in the right place.
relax and dont be so quick to self edit. you are doing fine. welcome to the boards, btw. enjoy yourself


exactly. what the bible is, it's questionable and i guess a convinced atheist wouldn't call it anything but fiction... so...it's relative.

as for classics, it's a very wide world... personally i like to read those of the 19th century for some reason... the list of the link a few posts above looks a bit strange to me, but of course there's not an absolute way to define a classic... mah...

[tommytucker]

i could harp on about the Bible being entirely fact-based (excluding parables) but i wont. the original message asked for 'classic fiction' in inverted commas. i dont live by the Koran, this doesnt mean i think it is fiction.
tommy.

[verybaddmom]

the fact remains that the bible, and the koran, are books. they are full of symbolic references and stories, and are interestingly written. this (among other reasons) leads them to classify as literature, and can be viewed either as such OR as a basis for a religious faith. as we are all here as fans of literature, there is no reason that one cannot view these works as just that....literature, and study them accordingly. if you would like to debate the merits of accepting the stories as a reason for faith, then please feel free to open a thread on the religious forum. however, i do not feel that causing a person to edit or close down their discussion in this particular thread is either fair or called for. in this case, jedi is perfectly within his rights to include the bible as 'classic literature' and should continue to do so freely. While i am not anyone important around here, like logos or admin, i do vehemently oppose discouraging new members from posting, and i feel that is what may be occuring here.
i encourage both of you to argue the merits of faith based literature in the religious section, but please, in this thread, lets just look at these works as literature.

[emily655321]

I agree emphatically. My AP English teacher, who I've mentioned before, considered "The Song of Solomon" (22nd book) to be essential reading for any student of literature, purely from a scholarly perspective. And when you're talking about "classic" literature, I'd say the first book ever to be published should be on the list, if only for historical reasons. It's the basis for western culture, like it or not, and hence for virtually every other literary work of the modern age.

I would also include other theological and philosophical texts on the list -- the Tao Te Ching is the next biggy that comes to mind, -- but the Bible has undoubtedly had the greatest level of cultural/literary influence.

[simon]

To add onto what emily and VBM are saying it is also just plain helpful to read the Bible to use it in reference to other works or writing, or movies or any other art form because it is used and copied in so many artistic forms. For instance having read the Bible I catch more references to it in fiction.

[JediFonger]

vbm, no1's gonna stop me from posting =). trust me... once i 'arrive @a forum' i arrive. elvis has entered the building! =).

anyway let's stay on target here. ok ok whatever add the Bible, bla bla bla.

now after that... wat should the list contain? i know homer's two works on there, Odyssey+Illiad. i hear they're one of the first written stories from oral traditions.

but what next? what's after that? jump to oedipus+antigone, etc? chronologically as a scholar of 'classic world literature' i would like to approach the bookreading with a flair of time and order. because you can see styles evolve, references upon older classics, etc. i think it's a very interesting way to approach reading the classics. i've been thking about it for years... but now have some time to actually do some reading.

[tommytucker]

verybaddmom please read the original message again as something has escaped your notice. the bible, 'classic literature' yes, 'classic fiction' no.
even sincere aetheists i know show enough respect about not referring to the bible as fiction whether they believe it to be or not. you seem to be trying to score points for your own side of an argument, which you brought up on your own, which doesnt belong on this forum.
im sorry if i seem a little offensive about this but if i smacked your children youd feel a little peeved i think. it seems like you might be trying to discourage me from posting, albeit very mildly.
my original reply was just to raise jedi's attention to her/his error. i was not telling him/her off.
tommy.

[JediFonger]

ok kidz, we want to stay on target. this will not veer off into religious discussion. it stops here. you can PM each other if you wish this to continue in private but i won't tolerate it here in my thread. i need a list about classic literature chronologically not a religious discussion. if i see another post re: it i'm gonna report it. let's stay light.

back on topic here, so what's a good list of classic lit in order?

[trismegistus]

the bible, 'classic literature' yes, 'classic fiction' no ....
im sorry if i seem a little offensive about this but if i smacked your children youd feel a little peeved i think.
I don't really see your analogy. Equating labeling the bible as "fiction" with smacking a child is somewhat off to me, not least because I don't see why anyone could possibly be so deeply offended that someone else labels the book in a certain away. Who cares if someone else sees it as fiction? Whether the stories in the text can bear the scrutiny of unbiased historical analysis and science (and most can't) ultimately has nothing to do with the text. The message of the text is its truth, IMO, not whether the vehicle of that message is founded in real history.

JediFonger, are you including social theory in this list? I'm thinking in terms of things like Machiavelli's The Prince, Plato's Republic, or Moore's Utopia.

[JediFonger]

trismegistus

i was including a lot of things :D but now i've had time to think about i want to narrow it down to narrative fiction. though those titles are on my other lists to read as well. ah so many lists... it's ironic that i should reading these lists (cause they are so long) instead of actually readin the books themselves!!! =).

[baddad]

Need the (almost) complete list of "The Classics"? Check out the online data base that the University of Pennsylvania has made available through their library. No exageration, I believe they have listed over 15,000 complete texts, all accessable to the public. A little bit of poking around their site and you will access more variety of "classic" literature than most of us thought possible. The collection is extensive, is presented in complete text online, is global in nature as far as geographical origination, and is a mind boggling resource!!! Happy hunting.

[Capnplank]

http://www.bartleby.com/hc/

Not chronological but pretty comprehensive without giving a list of every greek play out there and so on...

[Capnplank]

Hmm, and every item on their massive list is online there as well. Yikes.

[JediFonger]

thx for a list but it is a bit messy =). it's another great source though. thanks.