Get Hold Of The Classics Reclassified Envisioned By Richard Armour Available As Readable Copy
Book Description
In this fun little book, English Professor Richard Armour offers up irreverent retellings of various classics, including The Iliad, Julius Caesar, Ivanhoe, The Scarlet Letter, Moby Dick, Silas Marner and David Copperfield.
He also includes brief biographies of the authors, At the end of each book description, he includes a short little quiz on what youve “learned, ” The whole thing ispages but averages at least,chuckles per page.
Why I Liked It
My copy published inwas my dads, and I remember reading it over and over again when I was younger.
After he passed away in August, my mom asked us if we wanted any of my dads books to remember him by, When I saw this one on the shelves, it was like seeing an old friend, Not only did it remind me of my dad, it reminded me of my childhood, Upon rereading it recently, it was exactly as I remembered it and just as enjoyable,
I think this book is a great companion piece when reading any of these classic tales, Armour has a light touch, a wonderful sense of sarcasm, and a deft witskewering the classics in a way that is both educational and amusing.
I suspect that reading this book is about,more fun than reading the actual classics it “reclassifies, ”
Ive been thinking of this book lately as Ive watched Ti and her fellow readers struggle through Moby Dick, I thought it would be fun to excerpt some of the passages from the book related to Moby Dick as a little gift to Ti and the others and to provide a feel for the tone of the book.
This little gem of a book is a fine addition to any library and a great way to enjoy the classics in a lighthearted way.
SOME EXCERPTS:
We seem about to be introduced to this Captain Ahab in Chapter XXII, but Melville, not wanting to rush things, elects at this point to give an account of the history and literature of whaling.
Of course you knew all along that Louis XIV outfitted several whaling ships at his own expense, that Alfred the Great wrote the first narrative of a whaling voyage, and that the grandmother of Benjamin Franklin was Mary Folger, who had something or other to do with the whaling industry.
Nevertheless, you are grateful to be reminded of these facts, and the story can wait,
Unless you are interested in a catalogue of famous pictures of whales, the manufacture of rope lines, the anatomy of a whales eye, ear and tail, how to skin a whale and cook the blubber, and the history of whaling from Perseus to the present, you would do well to turn from Chapter XXXVI to Chapter CXXXIII without delay, thus saving nearly a hundred chapters without anybodys knowing the different if you keep quiet.
After all, Ahab isnt the only one entitled to be a skipper,
It should be added that the whole story is full of allegory and symbolism, Ahab stands for something, the sea stands for something, and Moby Dick, as we have already pointed out, stands for something, The reader has to stand for quite a bit, too,
From Questions on Moby Dick:
, How does a whaler demonstrate how big the one was that got away
, Do you realize how much information you have picked up about whales Has this made you any happier and better adjusted This is a hilarious romp through the great classics of literature.
More fun than that a barrel of monkeys! Richard Armours résumé is formidable: a Harvard PhD, who held research fellowships in England and France, and taught at a slew of institutions, including the University of Texas, Northwestern University, and the University of Frieburg.
When someone like that writes a book, you might be forgiven for imagining its on an academic subject,
And so The Classics Reclassified is,
except that its the most hilarious, the most utterly addictive take on an academic subject you could possibly imagine, Ive read a fair number of Armours books and am a diehard fan of his style of humour, but I have had ever since I first read The Classics Reclassified a very soft spot for this particular book.
This, as the name suggests, is a book about literary classics with authors ranging from Homer to Shakespeare to Dickens but in a way thats bound to make you see not just these authors but their works too in a different light.
There are seven authors and seven works covered here: Homer The Iliad Shakespeare Julius Caesar Sir Walter Scott Ivanhoe Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Herman Melville Moby Dick George Eliot Silas Marner and Dickens David Copperfield.
Each section begins with a brief but informative biography of the writer, Homer, for instance, we learn, “is said to have been born in seven cities, which indicates how his mother kept on the move, He is also said to have been born in six centuries, apparently after a number of
false starts, ” And, about George Eliot, Armour writes: “George Eliot had a great deal of trouble with her name, and so have librarians ever since most readers, however, give up after searching for a few hours and read something by, say, Eliot, T.
S. ” A footnote follows: “After a few hours with Eliot, T, S, some readers give up reading entirely”,
This deliciously irreverent style is carried forward into Armours discussion of each work, Basically, each of these is a synopsis of the work in question, every bit as pithy as the author bios, And with those nutty footnotes included: “The next day, on the plains of Philippi, the opposing armies are met” from Julius Caesar comes, for instance, with this footnote: “By whom, it is never divulged.
” There are hilarious asides, very quick plot lines, and smart little tips “Unless you are interested in a catalogue of famous pictures of whales, the manufacture of rope lines, the anatomy of the whales eye, ear, and tail, how to skin a whale and cook the blubber, and the history of whaling from Perseus to the present, you would do well to turn from Chapter XXXVI to Chapter CXXXIII without further delay, thus saving nearly a hundred chapters without anybodys knowing the difference if you keep quiet.
After all, Ahab isnt the only one entitled to be a skipper”,
Whats amazing is that Armours research and his knowledge of his subject is so obviously impeccable yet his sense of humour makes this book an absolute gem, the sort of book you can go back to again and again.
I end up reading it at least once a year, to the point where I know all the jokes, but still find them delightful.
An absolute mustread if you like literature, and you like humour,
P. S. My edition of this book is illustrated by Campbell Grant and the illustrations are every bit as brilliant as Armour's prose,
Very funny book. Or should I say very punny Seven famous books are discussed, with "mercifully brief biographies of their authors, " Quizzes after each chapter, just to make sure you got it all, The footnotes are admittedly unnecessary, but how could we do without them With illustrations as bizarre as the text, My giggles started before the actual book with "Dedicated to that amazing device, the Required Reading List, better even than artificial respiration for keeping dead authors alive" and didn't really stop until the end.
Some of the asides are showing their age, but for the most part a fun read, For those who like their literary analyses full of puns, this is the books for you, Some of the jokes may be dated, but still a fun read, The specific classics let in for the Armour treatment here are:
sitelinkThe Iliad
sitelinkJulius Caesar
sitelinkIvanhoe
sitelinkThe Scarlet Letter
sitelinkMobyDick or, The Whale
sitelinkSilas Marner
sitelinkDavid Copperfield
And what is the Armour treatment It's finishing the line ".
. . Achilles has no choice but to draw his keen blade from his thigh'" with the footnote, "A lesser man would have used a scabbard.
" And then setting discussion questions like this: "Hester is said to have made her living with her needle, Did she give inoculations on the side If not on the side, in the arm",