At the library: Loving classical literature, on my own time

About a month ago, I was shelf-reading in our adult non-fiction section at the Washington Public Library. I was getting close to the mid 800s, and I found our literature section.

If you are anything like me, when you hear 'classical literature,” you probably think about reading Shakespeare or Poe in high school for a reading class. You may have dreaded going to that class every day to hear your teacher read the assigned book in a monotone voice, then having to complete a packet based on the reading that you might not have been able to comprehend.

What I just described is how I felt when I had to read these things in class. I always loved to read classics on my own time, but when I had to try to answer questions that did not always relate to what I thought the text was saying, I struggled.

Putting aside the memories I had when I saw our classics, I picked up our very aged copy of the Iliad. Like I said before, I liked to read classics on my own time, so I checked them out. I realized that because I am going to college, I might need to be able to read more challenging books.

It took me quite a while to get into the Iliad, but after getting through the introduction, I loved it. I like to annotate things that I read, so this was a great opportunity for me. Reading about the Greek gods struck a chord in my brain. I used to be obsessed with Percy Jackson when I was in middle school, so when I read about the Greek gods again, I felt like I was 13 again.

This book made me analyze how leadership of the characters could lead them down certain paths. The army taught me about people's motivation or how they felt honored by fighting in the army. One thing that really interested me was how powerful the female gods were, not letting their gender define them. Fate, consequences, and the will of the people were large subjects in this book that helped me gain interest in what I am planning on studying in college.

Once I was finished with the Iliad, I felt a connection to it. Our copies of the Iliad and the Odyssey were both very old, so we ended up getting new copies. I wondered how long it had been since someone had picked up these books and loved them as much as I did.

I am very glad that I picked up the book. I feel more prepared to read harder texts in college now. I also am thankful that I was able to be inspired by the book. The topics of fate and people's will made me want to pursue my majors of religion and philosophy even more.

I was amazed that Homer could have been questioning what the meaning of fate is or what the will of people was. The Iliad did not just teach me lessons about life, but it made me want to learn more about the life we are living.

If you would like to check out our new copies of the Iliad or the Odyssey by Homer, give us a call at 319-653-2726.