The year is 2025, and a majority of the texts on English Literature courses across universities worldwide are from at least the 19th century, with many going back even further. Personally, as a third-year literature student at Cardiff my modules for this term include a heavy focus on the works of John Milton and Willaim Shakespeare, who both wrote over 350 years ago. It is then valid to, as many already have, question why the syllabus puts such a focus on centuries old literature.
This is a reasonable argument to make, we are constantly progressing through technology and faces social issues that older authors could never had imagined, so it would seem only right to focus on modern texts. Whilst I agree there should be representation of the many great works of the last decades, I will be using the next couple of hundred words to try and argue why the classics still matters: “Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it.” It is a tried and rather clichéd phrase, yet it applies well to the importance of studying old literature. Old literature allows us an insight into the values and norms of the past.
On my module “writing Caribbean Slavery” I have been exposed to the writings of slave owners, written during the era of slavery. Looking at these works that were created during the actual events allows a true insight into the horrifying mindsets of the individuals perpetuating the suffering. Through this we can remain educated on the power of ideology and words, and furthermore apply it to the modern day.
Conversely, by taking a look back at the literature of yesterday we can uncover more progressive aspects of the past that may have been forgotten about. In the module on Romantic Literature, we explored the anonymously written Woman of Colour, a novel that highlights a female of colour as its protagonist in a movement seemingly defined by white male authors. If we do not look at older books, then we are unable to shine a light on the unrepresented authors and people of history.
Both John Milton the poet and Paradise Lost the poem have attained an almost myth like status over the past 3 centuries, and as such seem elitist and difficult to approach. However, by analysing the poem through analysis and close reading, it becomes helpful in teaching us as aspiring writers. The poem was the first regarded as the first English poem to not use a rhyme scheme, something we now take for granted when reading poetry.
By looking back at the classics, we can learn how the conventions of literature begin and gain a true understanding into how far writing has developed throughout history. Because they’re good It may seem an obvious and underdeveloped argument to use, but I believe the classics are important because there often some of the best literature you will find. Literal millions of books have been written throughout history, however only a select few appear over and over again on syllabuses everywhere.
It is often argued that these texts are “famous for being famous”, yet I truly believe it is because they are able to tap into the human experience and explain it in a way that is both relatable and unique. I will always recommend Emily Bronte’s 1847 Wuthering Heights a novel I was introduced to in a first-year module on romance. Bronte touches on love, life and death in a way that feels archaic as a modern reader but simultaneously understandable, hundreds of years on.