Why Read The Classics? (PMC)

A classic is a book that is best explained by the author as 'a book that has never finished saying what it has to say.' in Why Read the Classics?, the author further says 'your classic author is the one you cannot feel indifferent to, who helps you define yourself in relation to him, even in dispute with him.' What makes a work a classic is a matter of personal choice, but, according to the author, defining a classic book is a virtually impossible task since 'There is nothing for it but for all of us to invent our own ideal libraries of classics.' Why Read the Classics? (Penguin Modern Classics) is a treatise on the defence of great literature by one of its finest proponents in the last century. There are basically three types of essays in the book. The first type is aimed towards people who are unfamiliar with the literary work that the author reviews. The second type is for people who the author assumes have read the work, but have not truly understood its inner meaning. Here, he attempts to open up the reader to the possibilities of varied and deeper meaning of the work. in the third type of essay, it appears as if the author is writing to himself, since it lacks plot summary or character analysis of the work. The focus in this type of essay is on interpretation of only some aspects of the work.