My recent study of biographical information of (in particular) Romantic-era writers has revealed an interesting and noteworthy commonality. No, I am not referring to tragically premature deaths, substance abuse or philandering.
We must delve past this stereotype of the isolated, heroic, Romantic poetic figure. I'm referring to something those guys (and girls, though fewer of them) had in common before they succumbed to inspired madness; a characteristic they share with all great writers of English literature and indeed most great people in the history of the world.
Literature is a unique vocation in that money cannot train literary talent (though of course fine education can sharpen it). Many great writers came from poor backgrounds and had little formal education.
Where, then, lies the seed of their success? Whether they were privileged enough to own books or, like young Robbie Burns, regularly trotted down to the shire library, the common trait is that they all read, passionately and prolifically.
And it wasn't just 10 minutes of pulp fiction before bed; reading a wide range of "classic" literature was an intrinsic part of every day. There is common misreporting of daily reading in my generation, due to the changing face of "literature".
Because we all lead such busy lives (doing who knows what), our daily reading consists of the text on a cellphone screen, emails, Facebook comments, prescribed lecture readings, the back of the cereal box, and maybe the newspaper (and unfortunately, probably in that order).
More enthusiastic readers may have extramural books, for relaxing evening reading, etc. Very rarely does the common reader commit themselves to a decent piece of literature. By decent literature I mean the "classics", esteemed works which were created before the birth of our grandparents.
Some people (ignorantly) proclaim classic texts are "irrelevant", but that's really not true. I think what people mean when they say this is they don't understand the language. If a book is written in the dialect of another time or place, read a translated version.
Perhaps read an abridged version. Still suffering? Stop trying so hard. Stop trying to understand every sentence and don't be afraid to abandon certain, knotty passages. Classics are classics because they are the best stories written, so let yourself enjoy the text.
Still, some people ask why should we pursue something so difficult, when we can read Harry Potter without needing to batter a brain cell?
If people don't read good literature, then people don't know what good literature is, as exemplified by the fact the Whitcoulls list of the top 100 books is so different from the Times list of greatest books.
The decline in the reading of great literature leads to the decline in production of great literature. So we all need to read more of the good stuff.
Somewhere along the line, writing has become more about having something to say and less about the ability to say it. Most Romantic poets would have been redundant if this was the case in their lifetime. Content dates; brilliance doesn't.
As Shakespeare is read today, who, from the present era, will be read in another 400 years? Oh yeah, you're right, books will have, like, died out by then.
- Katie Kenny studies English at the University of Otago.
