!

Shakespeare once wrote, Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have
greatness thrust upon them. While lines such as this one have become renowned and quoted over
the centuries, one might wonder - are they still relevant and useful in todays modern context?
Literary classics refer to literary works written before our time, usually before the twenty-first
century, that have achieved widespread readership, fame, and occasionally, even notoriety. Most of
these works have gone on to become the subject of intense scholarship, with some even having
become required reading in schools today. These literary classics still have plenty to offer us now,
for they depict lives in eras before our time, allowing us insightful glimpses in to the past, and they
are important cornerstones of a societys cultural identity.!

!
Literary classics can be seen as time machines - opening one takes you into the past and
offers you the chance to experience a life before your time, right from the comfort of your living
room They capture the socioeconomic conditions of a specific time in history, allowing us to
compare between life in the past and our lives today. F. Scott Fitzgeralds The Great Gatsby
depicted the lavish lifestyles of the rich and famous in the 1920s, while Anne Franks diaries take us
back to a time of fear and darkness. History is enshrined in literature - how else would we be able
to experience life under the Nazi regime, or the desolate conditions of The Great Dust Bowl as
captured in John Steinbecks The Grapes of Wrath? Indeed, these literary classics are important
documents of mankinds history that no other medium is able to replace, for books offer a unique
sense of personal engagement - it allows one to step into the shoes of historical figures and relive
the past. This function of literary classics is especially crucial when media such as photography or
film have yet to be invented. Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities - the worlds best-selling book offers a gripping account of the French Revolution that no other medium can offer. Hence, it would
be wrong to think that literary classics no longer offer us anything of value.!

!
Furthermore, literary classics form the basis of a societys cultural identity. Every society
has their own myths and legends, and these are captured in literary classics for the benefit of
future generations. Homers Odyssey and the Iliad both provide stories of Greek gods that have
become an integral aspect of Greek (and indeed, Western) culture. In China, the renowned tale of
a monks journey along with his semi-human disciples are enshrined in the form of The Journey to
the West, which still achieves widespread readership today. An individuals sense of belonging to
his culture is therefore founded upon these myths and stories, and to deny the role of literary
classics in passing them on would be paving the road for the disintegration of ones culture.!

!
However, one might argue that literary classics no longer have anything to offer us simply
because they are old and no longer have any relevance to our modern lives. For example, any
teenager who reads Romeo and Juliet might find it absurd - it is, after all, a tale of two thirteen-year
olds who fall in love within a matter of days and for which they commit suicide. In an age where
technological advancement has led to increasingly fast-paced lives, does one still have the time to
read such classics that barely have any bearing on their lives? Indeed, it is questionable how many
youth today will choose to pick up Shakespeare if it were not mandated by the syllabus. As such, it
appears that contemporary authors such as Jonathan Safran Foer, with his tale of a boy who lost
his father in the September 11 attacks, have more value and currency for our lives today, and
literary classics are no more than a waste of time.!

!
Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of literary classics come from countries that have
long and illustrious histories. Most classics today come from the United Kingdom or the United
States. In Asia, the most prominent literary classics come from China, with its prized 5000 years of
history. As such, countries such as those in Latin America, Southeast Asia, or Africa are often
neglected when it comes to the prominence of their literature. Considering the breakneck pace of
globalization today, such a narrow view of what literary classics, and by extension, culture, entail
is no longer appropriate nor valuable.!

!
However, while it may appear that literary classics are no longer relevant due to their age
and context, this is hardly true. The beauty of literature, as F. Scott Fitzgerald writes, lies in
knowing that your longings are universal. Literary classics are valuable because they offer us

insights into the human condition, which has hardly changed over the years. Shakespeares
Macbeth, for example, displays ambition that many of us today can still identify with. Lady
Macbeth, too, continues to be relevant to our lives today, having even been the subject of Freuds
study. Oscar Wildes The Picture of Dorian Gray depicts a young man so afraid of losing his youth
and beauty that he makes a disastrous pact with the devil - is this not relevant in a society
obsessed over beauty and engages in procedures like plastic surgery? Indeed, literature - be it
classic or contemporary - shows us what it means to be human. We are able to see ourselves in
the characters of our favourite books. There is a reason why literary classics continue to be sold
around the world and translated into every major language today - because its messages are
universal, its characters timeless, and its appeal undeniable. Hence, despite its old age and
different context from our lives today, literary classics do have much to offer us - perhaps the
greatest gift of all - an understanding of who we are and our place in the grand scheme of things.!

!
The purpose of literature is to engage the reader, and in this respect, literary classics
continue to excel. Lewis Carrolls Through the Looking-Glass continues to enchant readers of all
ages. So does C. S. Lewiss The Chronicles of Narnia. All a book requires is our imagination, and
literary classics continue to engage our creativity and take our imaginations to the limits. Hence,
they still have much to offer us today - especially for our younger generation, who are growing up
in the age of television and technology, which present ready-made visuals and do not challenge
our imaginations. As Roald Dahl - an author of many classics in their own right - argues in his
poem on television, books can offer us something no other medium can - the joy of using our
imagination and stepping into another world.!

!
In conclusion, while it may appear that literary classics have lost their worth in todays
modern society, this is hardly the case. Literary classics continue to provide crucial insights into the
past and form the basis of a societys culture. They continue to take readers on fantastical journeys
into the unknown, and more importantly, continue to guide us towards an understanding of who we
are and our place in the universe. As civilization progresses, much of todays contemporary
literature. such as Haruki Murakami of Japan, or Wole Soyinka from Nigeria, will go on to become
classics in their own right. Our future generations will have much to look forward to in terms of
reading choices, but the classics of today will continue to be classics tomorrow.