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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 Picture of Dorian Gray
by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray is Oscar Wilde’s only novel, a classic tale that warns against the dangers of vanity, obsession with youth, and moral disregard. Published in 1890, it follows Dorian Gray, a man who remains forever young and beautiful while a portrait of himself bears the marks of his degeneration and moral decay.
the invisible.... Yes, Mr. Gray, the gods have been good to you. But what the gods give they quickly take away. You have only a few years in which to live really, perfectly, and fully. When your youth goes, your beauty will go with it, and then you will suddenly discover that there are no triumphs left for you, or have to content yourself with those mean triumphs that the memory of your past will make more bitter than defeats. Every month as it wanes brings you nearer to something dreadful. Time is jealous of you, and wars against your lilies and your roses. You will become sallow, and hollow-cheeked, and dull-eyed. You will suffer horribly.... Ah! realize your youth while you have it. Don’t squander the gold of your days, listening to the tedious, trying to improve the hopeless failure, or giving away your life to the ignorant, the common, and the vulgar. These are the sickly aims, the false ideals, of our age. Live! Live the wonderful life that is in you! Let nothing be lost upon you. Be always searching for new sensations. Be afraid of nothing.... A new Hedonism—that is what our century wants. You might be its visible symbol. With your personality there is nothing
Other classics
Herman Melville
Moby-Dick; or, The Whale
Victoria Benedictsson
Modern
Henry David Thoreau
Walden
Marcel Proust
Within a Budding Grove
Franz Kafka
The Metamorphosis
Ernest Hemingway
In Our Time
F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby
Jane Austen
Emma
August Strindberg
Röda Rummet
Lewis Carroll
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Virginia Woolf
Mrs. Dalloway
Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell
Cranford
August Strindberg
Inferno
Emily Brontë
Wuthering Heights
Louisa May Alcott
Aunt Jo’s Scrap-Bag Vol. 1
William Shakespeare
Romeo and Juliet
Mary Shelley
Frankenstein
Marcel Proust
Swann's Way
Hjalmar Söderberg
Förvillelser
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