Classic Words

by Michael Clay Thompson

Michael Clay Thompson spent more than a decade recording the words used in the great classics of English and American literature, as well as the instances of their use. In this book he explores the language of the classics, with separate chapters for the most important words as revealed by his countenance, profound, manifest, serene, sublime, prodigious, acute, clamor, exquisite, languor, grotesque, condescend, allude, odious, placid, incredulous, tremulous, visage, singular, and venerate. Each chapter includes an in-depth look at the way the word is used in the classics and by whom.

How did Michael arrive at these words? This is from his “…I developed a computer database in which I collected the thousands of vocabulary examples I found [in classic literature]. In my computer, I entered the word, the sentence the word was in, the chapter, author, and title. King Lear took me 251 entries. Orwell’s 1984 took 315 entries. The Great Gatsby took 232 entries. Some summers I typed these words for hours every day. Ten years later I had collected 21,000 examples of words from seventy-six classics, and at last I have a sample large enough to know, with certainty, that some words are found in most of the best books in English and American literature. These classic words—words so venerable that they have become classics in themselves—are important to the profound understanding of most good novels, plays, poems, and essays and should be known to all of us as we embark on our journey through good literature.”

The book ends with a list of the 100 most frequently used words in the classics.

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Meredith Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable little book about the most used words in classic literature. I used this book as my January challenge and read one word a day. It was fun to learn the etymology of the words and how authors used them over time. Seeing how words came into and out of favor was interesting.

[Søren Warland · Rating 5 out of 5]

In this small volume, Michael Clay Thompson explores the etymology and uses of 20 most-used words from the classics. This investigation of the myriad uses of these words is captivating; it is so fascinating to see the creativity authors have exercised in applying these words to various situations, people, or objects.

This book is far more than an overview of a selection of classic words. The author also points to the importance these words have in our language and what implications their use has for our shared humanity. The author proves how the study of vocabulary is an exciting and important endeavor, and with a gentle wit makes you want to devote more of your time to the veneration of classic literature.

[Sarah]

Unshelved Book Club, 24 June 2011