On the other hand, Melville’s description of the chowder at the Try Pots Inn made my mouth water; it’s one of the best descriptions of a meal I’ve read. Almost food porn.
I 100% agree that Melville can write the shit out of a descriptive passage. Even the passages that drove me off were beautifully written.
Back in college, I had a super-nerdy roommate who loved Russian literature. At one point, in despair, he told me I was a narrative junkie. Dude was on to something.
In the real world sure.
In a fictional story it is guaranteed to happen. 
But, Shakespeare’s characters had to cross paths at just the right time for the story to progress.
Ahab could sail for an extra week before sighting the whale and it would have all happened the same.
IME kids at school now (or ten years ago, anyway) definitely do get that. I don’t know if they did when I was young, but the kids I’ve taught Romeo and Juliet - even the ones who also think it’s quite romantic - were very quick to criticise Romeo for switching from Rosalind to Juliet so quickly, and Juliet for killing herself. They quite like it compared to a lot of other secondary school literature (they LOVE Mercutio), but they’re not naïve.
Also, Shakespeare drops hints throughout that the feud is on its last legs and if it weren’t for firebrands like Tybalt, it would have already ended.
That is interesting. It does seem different from when we were in school (not sure of your age but close-ish I guess).
Are the kids today smarter, more savvy, more cynical? I have no idea.
I think Moby Dick is a great novel. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this:
Some choice excerpts:
“I am quite the fan of stories which involve man eating sea creatures, such as Jaws. Moby Dick is nothing compared to such classics, I fear.”
“I love literatur just as much as the next guy but we must face it 100 years or so ago American literature was reall weak and lagging from the rest of the world, perhaps now they’re starting to catch up with writers like Ann Rice and them.”
“Honestly, Over 400 pages devoted to killing a whale because it ate your hand? Come on.”
“Moby Ick’s more like it.”
We didn’t do R&J when I was a kid, so I have no direct experience. But I think it’s possible kids these days are more cynical and media-savvy, yeah. I’ve only taught in London but I doubt they’re much different in the rest of the country.
It works really well as a class text, actually - there’s loads of stuff in it that sparks debate and gets the students interested.
(I’m 45 so probably similar in age to you).
I’m 54 so yeah…totally practically the same. Just flip the numbers…I am basically 45. 
I think the generation is roughly the same though. Near enough.
My GF’s 9 years younger than me so I am totally on board with 9 years being practically the same.
Besides the small font size, my copy was delivered late with some of the pages stuck together. One star.
I suspect they’ve consumed more, and more sophisticated, media than I had at that age (but read fewer books).
Unquestionably. I remember the first time I saw Romeo and Juliet and being surprised to discover that the first scene, featuring Montague and Capulet servants insulting each other (“Do you bite your thumb at us, sir?” “Is the law of our side if I say ‘Ay’?” “No.” “No, I do not bite my thumb at you, sir…but I bite my thumb, sir”) was actually really funny.
Only as an adult did it occur to me that Shakespeare wasn’t writing novels; he was writing scripts. His plays were just that, plays – they were meant to be acted out. Of course they’re more comprehensible and enjoyable when seen on the stage.
You are mistaken about what other people noticed “back then.”
I earn my living as a translator and editor, so the couple of times I’ve acted in a Shakespeare play (purely for fun) I was eager to apply my language skills to getting the most out of the text. It’s not always easy to parse his sentences, figure out how some words should be pronounced, and decide what emphasis should be placed where. Once you do, however, everything just falls into place and you can see how brilliant a writer he was.
One of the best things I remember from high school English was being taken to a professional performance of Romeo and Juliet. Yeah, we got it.
My ancestor was taught Shakespeare by the method of class reading. Class reading pages, not parts.
Just start at the top of the page and read out loud until the next student was called on. He didn’t ‘get’ Shakespeare, and had no further interest.
On of my friends had Antony and Cleopatra performed by the school. He had a picture of a tragic romance between self-involved teenagers.
There is a well-regarded theater outside of Madison, WI - The American Player’s Theater in Spring Green - and our English lit class in high school went to a play. The Two Gentlemen of Verona, I think. Or possibly The Tempest. Seeing it definitely made the play much more understandable than reading it.
This is my main issue with Gatsby; no one ever remembers the point. When someone tells me they want to throw a “Gatsby party” I think: “You want to have an affair and murder each other?”
People need hobbies, @DCnDC