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Practice your writing by typing out classic literature. This method not only enhances your understanding of rhythm, structure, and nuances but also connects you deeply with the timeless flow of literary history.This is a BETA version.
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
by Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale is a novel by Herman Melville, published in 1851. It narrates the voyage of the Pequod, a whaling ship commanded by Captain Ahab, who is driven by an obsessive quest to kill Moby Dick, the white whale that on a previous voyage destroyed his ship and severed his leg at the knee. It is a profound and complex work that explores themes of vengeance, the quest for knowledge, and the nature of good and evil.
the light was extinguished, and this wild cannibal, tomahawk between his teeth, sprang into bed with me. I sang out, I could not help it now; and giving a sudden grunt of astonishment he began feeling me. Stammering out something, I knew not what, I rolled away from him against the wall, and then conjured him, whoever or whatever he might be, to keep quiet, and let me get up and light the lamp again. But his guttural responses satisfied me at once that he but ill comprehended my meaning. “Who-e debel you?”—he at last said—“you no speak-e, dam-me, I kill-e.” And so saying the lighted tomahawk began flourishing about me in the dark. “Landlord, for God’s sake, Peter Coffin!” shouted I. “Landlord! Watch! Coffin! Angels! save me!” “Speak-e! tell-ee me who-ee be, or dam-me, I kill-e!” again growled the cannibal, while his horrid flourishings of the tomahawk scattered the hot tobacco ashes about me till I thought my linen would get on fire. But thank heaven, at that moment the landlord came into the room light in hand, and leaping from the bed I ran up to him. “Don’t be afraid now,” said he, grinning again. “Queequeg here wouldn’t harm a hair of your head.”
Other classics
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
August Strindberg
Inferno
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Jane Austen
Emma
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great GatsbyWhy Type a Masterpiece?
Typing out classical literature is not just an exercise in patience; it's a deeply immersive way to understand the rhythm, structure, and nuances of great writing. By manually reproducing the works of renowned authors, you engage with the text on a level that reading alone cannot offer. This method allows you to feel the flow of sentences, the choice of words, and the intricate construction of paragraphs that make these works timeless.
Style is a very simple matter; it is all rhythm. Once you get that, you can't use the wrong words.
– Virginia Woolf
literati is a unique platform where writers can select from a vast collection of public domain classics to type out. This practice is akin to a musician playing pieces by the masters to internalize the elements of composition and performance. Just as the musician learns the subtleties of each note and chord, the writer learns the power of each word and sentence.
Prose is like hair; it shines with combing.
– Gustave Flaubert
Engaging directly with masterpieces allows writers to absorb the rhythm of the text, the ebb and flow of its pacing, and the beauty of its imagery. It cultivates an appreciation for the craft of writing and provides invaluable lessons in how to construct compelling narratives, develop characters, and evoke emotions in readers. Happy typing!
The only truth is music.
– Jack Kerouac