Short summary of chapter6 on reading in relation to literature
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On Reading in Relation to Literature
Summary
From the beginning itself Hearn asserts that it is impossible to learn how to read.
Reading doesn't mean reading words or characters. This kind of reading is for one's personal amusement.
We buy books just to amuse or to kill time.
Even though we read much it is impossible for us to appreciate the deeper qualities with in the text.
Every book must be read in the same way we read a science text.
Books are published according to a fashion. There is a fashion in literature as well as in everything else.
Now it is difficult to find great literature, as books are produced without style or taste.
We should train our mind not to read books for amusement.
Reading for amusement is a habit like wine drinking or smoking.
A novel helps us to forget our troubles. Now a days everyone could read 1000s of books because of libraries.
The direct result of such kind of reading is nothing but ccloudiness.This is the direct outcome of reading for amusement.
He talks about child's method of reading. A child reads thoroughly giving all his concentration to his work.
He talks about professional readers. He must be a scholar a man of very uncommon capacity. Out of a thousand manuscripts he selects only one and reads it for several times.
A professional reader is seen in publishing houses.
He reads in the same way a child reads his book.
A scholarly way of reading is the child's way of reading.
We should not waste our time in finding out what to read.
To become a critic/professional reader we must read both good and bad works.
It is really a difficult task to read and interpret a book. The greatest of all critic is the public. A book is judged by the public of centuries.
A judgement is made by the collective human opinion.
A book becomes great when we read it for many time.
Read only those books that we want to read more than once.
A geat book always grows and gives us new meanings.Eg great work s of Goethe. His works can entertain a child, ayoung man or even an old man.
Great works are made by men who donot see themselves to be great . Eg Book of Job , Manon Lescaut etc.
Sir John Lubbock wrote a list of books what he called the best books in the world.
Many publishers published those books in cheaper form. Others tried to imitate Lubbock but it became worthless.
The choice of great books must be an individual one. Choose books according to our needs. No one can decide for us.
Choose the works that gives us pleasure.
Hearn gives a complete list of books that comes under first rank ie, sacred books,epic poems and dramas.
He talks about translations.
No verse translations from Greek can reproduce the Greek verse. But there are two excellent prose translations in English ie Illiad and Odyssey
Though there are many translated works it is necessary that we must have an idea about the story.
It is better to read works in the original language
Even though we can't understand a single word written by Shakespeare,he advised us to keep a copy of Shakespeare as day by day we could slowly acquire knowledge about him. Slow he exercises a great influence on us.
He concludes the speech with the line "Whenever you hear a new book being published, read an old one."