Kindly help me choosing. I have wasted my time in confusion. From classical poetry I have selected Pop's ROTL so far. And to be honest it was easy and interesting as compare to other way too lengthy poems.

Drama

Preparing The Impotance of Being Earnest and Odiepus Rex


Novel
I have choosed A Tale of Two Cities and Pride & Prejudice

Prose

Gulliver's Travels

And nothing from American Lit


Waiting for your sincere replies.

Thanks.

PS. I am a housewife so can't study full time. That's the reason I want to know which poet/writer is easy to understand.

Hello! I have never studied english as an academic subject but I'm an avid reader and have read most of the works you have mentioned.

The importance of being Earnest is full of Wilde's signature wit and as such is an absolute joy to read (and watch I'm sure but I've never seen an adaptation personally).

I have not actually read Oedipus Rex but am fairly familiar with the greek myth of Oedipus. You will definitely need a commentary to go along with it since the myth itself is not only linked with other myths, there is also the tendency of greek classics to make refrences to popular events/people/gossip of the time which make no sense if you don't have context.

Not the biggest fan of Charles Dickens (I know, unpopular opinion). I much rather prefer books by say Wilkie Collins who was a sort of mentor for Dickens but somehow Collins' books seem almost contemporary in their pacing and flow which make for lovely reads. Anyway back to a tale of two cities. I have read it; good plot, great character, horrible pacing (it gets slow very quickly), and you will need a very thorough understanding of the historical background since the setting is very important in it.

JANE AUSTEN IS MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR OF ALL TIME. Sorry I got excited. I love Austen. Clearly. Highly recommend any of her works. Pride and prejudice is definitely the most famous and full of dry humour and hidden jabs at the societal expectations at the time. And at times when reading you can't help but draw parallels between Pakistani society today and England in the 18th century-its absolutely uncanny but it makes the book ten times more relatable and hilarious. Austen's other works are also brilliant. Northanger abbey is the lightest of the bunch. Lady Susan is the only one that actually made me sit up and laugh out loud. Mansfield Park is a tad bit dry but interesting and with more mature themes. Sense and sensibilities is a lovely read especially if you have a sister. Emma is funny and full of some insanely hilarious circumstances (it reminded me of Shakespeare's midsummer night's dream at times with all the lover mix ups!) Persuasion is a personal favourite but I've been told that people can find it dry and a little slow.

Read Gulliver's Travels!! I read the unabriged version in my late teens and remember it making for a good read.

I shall give a few classics recommendations below and some of them are set in America/are by American writers so maybe that can help you with American literature;

Anne of green gables by L. M. Montgomery. I recommend this book to everyone. It changes your perspective on life and how you can chose to smile in the face of the worst circumstances one can imagine. Anne is one of my absolute favourite literary characters. The book is set in Canada by the way.

The age of innocence by Edith Wharton. This one is firmly american literature. Wharton is one of my favourite american writers. She writes with such "sensitivity". Her books are very engaging to read and despite the worst motivations of a character Wharton can make you understand their side of the story as well as you understand the protagonist's.

No name by Wilkie Collins. Some of the best female characters I have ever read about from Victorian literature. My top rated read from last year. Highly recommend it.

1984 by George Orwell. This book will change your worldview and shake you to your core about what you think is politically and economically happening in this world and plants a deeprooted distrust of the media. If you don't want that-uhmm avoid it.

Some other american lit recommendations; East of eden by John Stienbeck, To kill a mockingbird, Adventures of tom sawyer or huckleberry finn by mark twain, the yellow wallpaper (its a short story and very very interesting to read how female mental disorders were once treated)

I can go on and on here so I'll just stop. I hope admist my ramblings above you found something useful.

Thank you so very much, Aishalam, for such a detailed reply. I wasn't expecting one. I am new to this forum and Don't know why members of this forum don't reply soon or when it's needed urgently. Anyway... You are a keen reader.. Wow.

Anne of green gables, 1984, TKAMB etc, they aren't included in my syllabus.

In American literature we have:

For whom the bell tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Morisons's Jazz

Mourning becomes Electra

The Crucible by Miller

I'm glad that my reply could help. The forum has started coming back to life again but it did have a very silent spell for some time.

From the works you have mentioned; I have read The old man and the sea by Hemingway and his writing really makes one question what "good" literary writing actually is. Whatever you have been taught about how writers should write, he disobeyed primarily every rule and still produced masterpieces. For whom the bell tolls is on my reading lists for the year so I hope to get to it soon but I'm sure it's a very fascinating read.

Toni Morrison has always been in a league of her own. I have read Jazz and if you chose it prepare for drama! Lots of it! The book has excellent pacing and plot but the most interesting thing was the narrative style. Also you will need at least a basic understanding of the social situation and the class and race conflicts in the united states during the early 20th century and also know about the American civil war and overall living conditions and societal expectations during the mid 19th century. The historical context-though not central to the plot-gives a lot of depth and meaning to the characters' motivations.

I had never even heard of Mourning Becomes Electra or its writer Eugene O'Neill. Definitely seems interesting.

Now the crucible is a must read. It is set during the Salem witch trials. It surprisingly also included the unjust rulings of men being accused as witches which is often ignored in popular culture. In any case it is very fascinating to read how communities try and safeguard traditions and values and how institutions like the courts can rule unjustly simply so that cultural unrest does not happen. It is also interesting because it downright turns into a court room drama with the accused all accusing one another and no one's testimony being of much worth. It does have some disturbing themes so fair warning with that.

i prepared 3 poets ,3 novels and 3 drama and three prose
poets milton paradise lost ,ROTL ,JOHN DONNE ..
DRAMA , oedipus rex, othello , dr faustus
novels pride and prejudice ,Dickens A Tale of Two Cities ,Hardy The Return of the Native
prose : bacons ,russel edward said