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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.
O, she is lame. Love’s heralds should be thoughts, Which ten times faster glides than the sun’s beams, Driving back shadows over lowering hills: Therefore do nimble-pinion’d doves draw love, And therefore hath the wind-swift Cupid wings. Now is the sun upon the highmost hill Of this day’s journey, and from nine till twelve Is three long hours, yet she is not come. Had she affections and warm youthful blood, She’d be as swift in motion as a ball; My words would bandy her to my sweet love, And his to me. But old folks, many feign as they were dead; Unwieldy, slow, heavy and pale as lead. Enter Nurse and Peter. O God, she comes. O honey Nurse, what news? Hast thou met with him? Send thy man away. NURSE. Peter, stay at the gate. [_Exit Peter._] JULIET. Now, good sweet Nurse,—O Lord, why look’st thou sad? Though news be sad, yet tell them merrily; If good, thou sham’st the music of sweet news By playing it to me with so sour a face. NURSE. I am aweary, give me leave awhile; Fie, how my bones ache! What a jaunt have I had! JULIET. I would thou hadst my bones, and I thy news: Nay come, I pray thee speak; good, good Nurse, speak.
Other classics
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Virginia Woolf
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Mary Shelley
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Jane Austen
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Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
August Strindberg
Inferno
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Henry David Thoreau
WaldenWhy 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