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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.
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet, a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career, tells the story of two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare’s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays today.
What, ho! Apothecary! Enter Apothecary. APOTHECARY. Who calls so loud? ROMEO. Come hither, man. I see that thou art poor. Hold, there is forty ducats. Let me have A dram of poison, such soon-speeding gear As will disperse itself through all the veins, That the life-weary taker may fall dead, And that the trunk may be discharg’d of breath As violently as hasty powder fir’d Doth hurry from the fatal cannon’s womb. APOTHECARY. Such mortal drugs I have, but Mantua’s law Is death to any he that utters them. ROMEO. Art thou so bare and full of wretchedness, And fear’st to die? Famine is in thy cheeks, Need and oppression starveth in thine eyes, Contempt and beggary hangs upon thy back. The world is not thy friend, nor the world’s law; The world affords no law to make thee rich; Then be not poor, but break it and take this. APOTHECARY. My poverty, but not my will consents. ROMEO. I pay thy poverty, and not thy will. APOTHECARY. Put this in any liquid thing you will And drink it off; and, if you had the strength Of twenty men, it would despatch you straight. ROMEO. There is thy gold, worse poison to men’s souls,
Other classics
August Strindberg
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Mary Shelley
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Herman Melville
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Hjalmar Söderberg
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Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Jane Austen
Emma
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and PunishmentWhy 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