i might as well start this off with admitting that i will sound like a smart ass in this. probably even pretentious too. but certain facts need to be stated if this conversation is going to continue. i find this entire topic rather laughable and depressing. lots of complaints about authors being pretentious in their writing and whining. all i've read here is a lot of ignorant whining and complaining. there's a difference between preferential opinions and the actual quality of work.
i generally enjoy the literary cannon. while author's means of conveying their understanding of the human condition can differ, each of these works tries to encapsulate what it means to be human. some are outdated, but that doesn't mean the importance of the work is entirely lost. time and place are very important.
i think everything everyone has complained about in this topic so far i enjoyed when i read it. the only exception is Pride & Prejudice on the initial reading. when i had to read it the second time, i noticed a lot Austen's sarcasm and mockery. she's not the greatest, but i understand that she gets taught in every high school because she's easy to follow and easier to give tests about superficial parts of the text.
the same applies to Romeo and Juliette. Any decent Shakespeare scholar will tell you it's one of his worst plays, as it is one of his earliest plays. however, within it are some great manipulations of language. Example: Romeo and Juliette speak in rhyming lines, but have even numbered lines until the two meet. during their first conversation, Juliette's odd numbered lines leave Romeo to pick up the rhyme. there is a manipulation of language going on that is meant to work subconsciously on the audience and convince them into believing the kids are in love. that is an example of why the play is great and deserves to be remembered, along with most of plays.
Beowulf is a poem, not a book. and, no, it didn't lose a rhyme scheme in any translation. it did not have one. Anglo-Saxon poetry used alliteration to structure it's lines. usually this has been retained. usually.
oh, and Great Gatsby and "Wasteland" are not postmodern, so stop referring to them such. they are part of the modernists. postmodernism doesn't start until shortly after world war 2. postmodernism is the company of Pynchon and Nabokov, usually starting in the sixties. however, there are still some modernist once postmodernism begins, Judson Mitcham is one of them.
also, Odysseus is not a douche. he is flawed, but he tries to do right more often than not. at times he needs to come off as confident to the point of arrogant to not look weak and desperate despite commonly being so. he does live a world ruled by petty gods.
oh, "classic literature" generally means everything that predates the medieval era, so roughly 600 AD. and even then, most people only use it in reference to ancient Greek and Roman writings, since they are the major societies that existed during that time frame.
