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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.
The Bells and Other Poems
by Edgar Allan Poe
The Bells and Other Poems is a collection by Edgar Allan Poe, which includes the titular poem "The Bells." This collection showcases Poe’s mastery over the macabre, the mysterious, and the melodious aspects of poetry. The poems oscillate between the eerie tranquility of the beautiful and the unsettling whispers of the supernatural.
Whose sleep hath been taken Beneath the cold moon, As the spell which no slumber Of witchery may test, The rhythmical number Which lull'd him to rest?" Spirits in wing, and angels to the view, A thousand seraphs burst th' Empyrean thro' Young dreams still hovering on their drowsy flight-- Seraphs in all but "Knowledge," the keen light That fell, refracted, thro' thy bounds, afar, O Death! from eye of God upon that star: Sweet was that error--sweeter still that death-- Sweet was that error--even with _us_ the breath Of Science dims the mirror of our joy-- To them 'twere the Simoom, and would destroy-- For what (to them) availeth it to know That Truth is Falsehood--or that Bliss is Woe? Sweet was their death--with them to die was rife With the last ecstasy of satiate life-- Beyond that death no immortality-- But sleep that pondereth and is not "to be"-- And there!--oh! may my weary spirit dwell-- Apart from Heaven's Eternity--and yet how far from Hell! What guilty spirit, in what shrubbery dim, Heard not the stirring summons of that hymn? But two: they fell: for Heaven no grace imparts To those who hear not for their beating hearts.
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August Strindberg
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Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
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Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Jane Austen
Emma
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Mary Shelley
FrankensteinWhy 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