I wish everyone would admit that classic literature is inherently difficult to read, and that you shouldn’t feel stupid if you don’t “get it”. Especially the dark academia/ classic lit fandoms and stuff. Like unless you have the vocabulary and pop culture knowledge of an 18th century nobleman, it’s going to be a tough read. It’ll take you longer to read; you’re not stupid if you’ve spent several months on a single book! And you don’t have to enjoy everything. It’s okay if you got bored after one chapter of Wuthering Heights, and couldn’t be bothered to read the rest. It’s okay if you want to read your favourite kids book for the 10th time instead. You’re not stupid. No piece of literature is inherently better, more “important”, more “meaningful”, or more “intellectual” than another. First and foremost, read what brings you joy.

Yep. The ‘trick’ to classic lit is that it presupposes a certain amount of Prior Knowledge

You know how we joke that our memes must be completely incomprehensible to outsiders? That’s what’s happening here

But instead of referencing, say, the bone stealing witch or the wonderbread guy or Skyrim or loss.jpeg, classic literature assumes you’re gonna know all the stuff a Back-Then Reader would have known

No kidding, like. when you read Classic Literature™ in context of academia? We’d always get at least a week-long crash-course on the relevant historical context, social tensions, religious understandings, pop-science misconceptions, common literary tropes — And we’d get handed a selection of short stories and poems from other contemporary authors for a sense of the General Cultural Vibe — THEN we would finally read the book.

I mean, imagine trying to understand Stranger Things except you have to guess what all the Star Wars and D&D talk is about based on a single preserved reylo fic and a historical summary of the Satanic Panic. That would be really weird and confusing, right?

So if you’re reading classic lit on your own, without a passionate expert scribbling on the whiteboard to explain ancient memes and break down ye olde Discourse for you? Of course it’s gonna be hard to understand!

It’s natural to struggle, and it’s okay if that’s not your idea of fun.

Today’s classics were often yesterday’s pop culture — and it’s perfectly fine if you’d rather use your precious free time and limited energy to engage with pop culture that’s Relevant To You instead

Just to add--if you are interested in classic literature, the first book in the era you’re looking at (probably somewhere in the 1800s?) will be the weirdest. But you’ll start to recognize references, social mores, etc. more and more, until future books don’t throw you off nearly so much. 

Also: You don’t have to understand every single reference for the story to work, as long as you get the gist of it. For instance, I haven’t read any of the Gothic novels Jane Austen parodies in Northanger Abbey, but I don’t have to. All I have to understand is, “A fangirl has been reading tons of paranormal romance and dreaming up so much fic in her head that she’s completely unprepared for what real relationships are like.” This should be familiar to absolutely ANYONE on Tumblr. 

It’s tougher than contemporary stuff, yes, and it’s hardly a big deal if it’s just not your bag--but it can be a whole lot of fun. Don’t be pressured into reading what you don’t like, but also don’t be intimidated by anything that might interest you. Find your joy, wherever it lies. 

I recommend finding a good annotated version of whatever you are hoping to read if possible. I found the annotated version of pride and prejudice read much more quickly woth explanations of why certain things were important

AsoRyuu Week - Day 1 Pining

We may be few in number. But we’re fighters, all of us! To the last dwarf!

THE HOBBIT: An Unexpected Journey (2012) dir. Peter Jackson

Remember this?

Well

It happened

LITTLE JOSH WON!!!!

Not realistic he got a reply after submitting his résumé

Not realistic: his resume actually touched the hands of a living person

Does this count? Volkswagen Beetle side fenders converted into motorcycles

Volkswagen pillbug

checo 🥺

someone teach me how to draw bears

Like this

i am a gay man unfortunately. this is still very sweet

this technique will work regardless of sexuality, don’t worry

Lmfao

This post honestly keeps getting better

my family has called this playing under cover monster :3

if disney boys had blogs

Cannot believe Disney is sleeping on the chance to have a comedy duo show with Shuri & Peter Parker that could be called “The Princess and the Parker”

Smol gang here to tell u that everything will be okay!

fake relationship but its a king and his concubine that was once an amazing soldier but he couldn’t go up the ranks for whatever reason so the king was like listen. hear me out. you can be my strategy dude. u just gotta be okay w walking around shirtless a lot. and soldier dude is like man that’s an UPSIDE and yknow they end up falling in love

some idiot advisor: I can’t believe his majesty lets his boytoy attend these council meetings, it’s an insult to the noble institutions that uphold our nation, it’s an outrage—

a somewhat smarter advisor: you’re just mad bc he pointed out how dumb your naval attack strategy and no one laughed when you made a mean joke about him

Boytoy has gone from a top fighter who was well respected but in constant danger to wearing silks and eating grapes on daises. That fucked up rotator cuff was the best thing to ever happen to him

Bonus points: at least half the other concubines are experts in assorted fields, the monarch brings them to relevant meetings to both play up a reputation for frivolity, and make sure at least one person there doesn’t have an outside agenda.

my harem? 

did you mean: my chief strategic advisors

Disney + sickest burns (renaissance edition)