There were many passages that captured my attention in this essay by Italo Calvino. The first that stood out to me I found under the second definition Calvino gives to the term ‘classic.’ In this passage he writes, “There is a particular potency in the work which can be forgotten itself but which leaves its seed behind in us.” Calvino explains to readers that although the basic elements of a classic novel may be forgotten, one never fully forgets the literary work because it is so strong that it will last forever in somewhere in the reader’s thoughts.
In another passage that spoke to me the author writes, “A classic is a book which with each rereading offers as much sense of discovery as the first reading.” This is one of the fourteen definitions Calvino gives to the word ‘classic.’ I especially like this one because it puts into words the feeling that one can attain from rereading one of his or her favorite books; it also effectively explains why we continue to return to the classic books which we have already read and enjoyed at least once.
Another passage I enjoyed from Calvino’s essay says, “Classics are books which, the more we think we know them through hearsay, the more original, unexpected, and innovative we find them when we actually read them.” I have found this to be a very true statement through my own experiences with reading classic novels. Calvino discourages anyone from reading any work which discusses another book because it could taint the reading experience with some other person’s opinion on the novel.
Italo Calvino writes many thought-provoking passages in his essay entitled “Why Read the Classics?” These passages are what makes Calvino’s essay interesting while also being informative.
Calvino, Italo. "Why Read the Classics?" Why Read the Classics? London: Vintage, 2000. 5-8. Print.
No comments:
Post a Comment