Literature and Classics--What Sets Them Apart?

Literature is more than the average, everyday flow of writing.  Literature is an articulate work of art from artists who possess both impressive intellect and pure, unadulterated talent.  Literature is difficult; the beautiful words with which they are painted are from a time so different from our own.  These works were composed in a world where language was more than purely a means of communication, it was a form of art.   Literature leaves a certain impression of greatness. Anyone can write and it doesn’t take a well learned author to pen a young adult fiction, but literature sets itself apart in both the breathtaking wording and profound, well-grounded morals. 

A classic piece of writing is a work that has stood the test of time.  Sometimes one can tell by simply reading such a story that it is one that will continue to live on in the hearts of men because they themselves know that it will live on in theirs.

For example, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll displays a sense of the new and bizarre that seems so peculiar and yet, strangely familiar to its reader.  Wonderland is a world that one only travels to in dreams; in this it is far from relatable to our everyday lives.  Alice is in many ways like the average reader.  She touches the part of us from when we too were young and imaginative.  In this way we are entirely able to relate to her as a person.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Conan Doyle), as another example, depicts the life of a man with intelligence so great it seems to make him more than a man.  This in itself sets it apart from other detective novels as king of the genre.  Along with supremely plotted storylines, plenty of action, and interesting dialogue, Sherlock’s character is so well crafted it displays the sense of the incomprehensible and the unattainable.  Through the eyes of his colleague, Dr. John Watson, a man to whom many of us can relate, we see a man so completely extraordinary it’s almost as if he is a god on earth, and yet he is but a man like you and me.  Readers of these stories find themselves striving to gain knowledge and become more aware of the world around them.

There are many examples of classic works that could prove this point.  If one takes the time to

carefully examine each piece of literature that is deemed a classic, they will discover the same basic ingredients.  These are often, but not limited to firstly, a brilliantly well thought-out but natural storyline.  Secondly, a classic contains intricate, relatable characters and situations alongside those that defy all levels of grasping.  Lastly, a classic holds an ending that leaves you a different person.  A classic makes you ponder the world around you and question your own place in it.  A classic’s morals bleed out through its pages so that its reader cannot help but be affected by it.  But a classic isn’t easy.  A classic takes a journey through your mind, plaguing you with never-ending questions and tearing down the walls you have built around yourself.  In the end, if you really have devoted yourself to it, you feel violated for you have just looked into the mind of a genius from long ago and found yourself inadequate to the task they have set before you.  If words have power then great works are magic and you have just been put under a spell. 

Classics are dangerous and they will change you.  It may be hard and it may be painful, but in the end, you will emerge a new person, stronger than you were before.