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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.
Sweet, sweet, sweet Nurse, tell me, what says my love? NURSE. Your love says like an honest gentleman, And a courteous, and a kind, and a handsome, And I warrant a virtuous,—Where is your mother? JULIET. Where is my mother? Why, she is within. Where should she be? How oddly thou repliest. ‘Your love says, like an honest gentleman, ‘Where is your mother?’ NURSE. O God’s lady dear, Are you so hot? Marry, come up, I trow. Is this the poultice for my aching bones? Henceforward do your messages yourself. JULIET. Here’s such a coil. Come, what says Romeo? NURSE. Have you got leave to go to shrift today? JULIET. I have. NURSE. Then hie you hence to Friar Lawrence’ cell; There stays a husband to make you a wife. Now comes the wanton blood up in your cheeks, They’ll be in scarlet straight at any news. Hie you to church. I must another way, To fetch a ladder by the which your love Must climb a bird’s nest soon when it is dark. I am the drudge, and toil in your delight; But you shall bear the burden soon at night. Go. I’ll to dinner; hie you to the cell. JULIET. Hie to high fortune! Honest Nurse, farewell.
Other classics
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The Picture of Dorian Gray
Victoria Benedictsson
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Ernest Hemingway
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Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
August Strindberg
Inferno
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
Jane Austen
Emma
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Crime and Punishment
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
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