Nathan Flowers

When broaching the topic of classical literature (specifically Classical American Literature), one must wonder “what makes literature classic”?  This is a difficult question to ask if one does not first know the definition of literature. According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary the most current definition of literature, (that is applicable to the subject at hand) is “writings in prose or verse; especially: writings having excellence of form or expression and expressing ideas of permanent or universal interest” (“Literature”).  Now that there is a firm standpoint on the concept of literature the next question one must ask is what makes this literature classic. Those questions my sound a little like this: “Is literature classic because it was popular?”, “Were all classical books once popular?”, “Does popular literature have anything to do with classical literature at all?”, “What is popular literature in the first place?” All of these questions have their places but the first that will be discussed here is “what is popular literature?”

To answer this question is not as simple as looking up the answer; first, one must look at a vast expanse of American literature and see which were popular and then determine what ties the all together as popular. Now obviously no one has enough time to search through all of the so-called “popular” American literature but there are other ways of finding such information. For example, the book A History of American Literature is a great overview of popular American literature in a small 800 or so pages. Within this book we can answer at least one of the many questions about popular and classic literature. Not all popular literature is or becomes classical. We can see very early on many popular stories from Native American tribes are not classical literature (Gray 7-15). In sixteen eight-two there was a book published called The Sovereignty and Goodness of God, Together With the Faithfulness of His Promises Displayed: Being a Narrative of the Captivity and Restauration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson, which was immensely popular in the 1500s and 1600s. Most people have probably never heard about it, let alone call it a classic (Gray 50). With Shuddering Fall (1964) and A Garden of Earthly Delights (1967) were two very popular books in the last century but also have not been heard of by too many (Gray 624). So with that we can say without a doubt popular literature in American history does not always become considered classic. However, this does not entirely mean classical literature does not find a basis in popularity. This also does not tell us what it means for literature to be popular. On the definition of popular literature it is acceptable to say at least this: popular literature, at least in America, has had local or widespread influence and large appreciation from those within that influence.

With that said the question arises, what does popular literature have to do with literature becoming a “classic”? Now, we have many examples of classical literature so it would make sense to look at those and see if they became classics because of their popularity or for some other reason. For example, on the 16^th of March, 1850 a book called The Scarlet Letter was released (Laston). It was an instant bestseller (Laston). Some would argue it sold so well not only due to the excellent storytelling of the book but also because it was one of the first (if not the first) American novels that dealt with issues like sexual immorality and other psychological issues that had not been acceptable or appropriate to be addressed so bluntly and therefore most likely engrossed readers.

The Grapes of Wrath was published on April 14, 1939 by a John Steinbeck (Lanzendorfer). The novel was critically acclaimed and a bestseller — some 430,000 copies had been printed by February 1940. This was most likely due to the relatability the readers would have had to the characters as the story was based around the Dust Bowl, which had occurred within the decade of the publishing of the book. This shows the author was thinking not only about the way to write the book but also the way to attract lots of attention using a common experience most had gone through within the recent past. This is undoubtedly why it was a bestseller and having won a Nobel Peace Prize for the book Steinbeck had assured his book would be remembered as one of the classics of American literature.

Lastly take a look at The Call of The Wild by Jack London. Written as a frontier story about the gold rush, The Call of the Wild was meant for the pulp market. Originally planned to be about 2,000 to 8,000 words long, it ended up being 32,000 words in length. It was first published in four installments in The Saturday Evening Post in 1903. In the same year, Jack London sold all rights to the story to Macmillan, which published it in book format. The first printing sold out in 24 hours and the book has never been out of print since that time (Lanzendorfer). This book was most likely immensely popular at that time because it was around the time people had finally settled down from the Klondike Gold rush of the 1890s. They would have returned to their family’s home and read a newspaper portraying the life many people had just been living. This most likely brought back memories from their time in the north, not to mention their attachment to their dogs, giving them a feeling of nostalgia and excitement. Moreover this novel/short story fit exactly with the mood of those returning to their homes and those who wanted to know what it was like to go to the gold rush. This novel shows the author’s understanding of the people’s mindset at the time and wonderful craftsmanship of the book itself.

Gathering what has been said, we can now make some statements. First is most if not all classics were at one time or another popular. Second, it can also be said the term “classic” also comes with a certain level of skill from the author.  This skill is that which allows the author to read the mindset of the majority of people at the time and use his/her skill in writing to create a masterpiece that has now been labeled as classic. Some authors of classics were undoubtedly not famous the moment they came out, and there are surely examples of famous works that did not receive appreciation until after the author’s death, but in those situations the book achieves classic status by being relatable to something the author could not predict or being enormously famous for some reason or other at a later date.

For example, Edgar Allan Poe: “The poster-boy of struggling writers. Poe is almost as famous for living and dying in poverty as he is for his stories, which have become classics in almost every way possible. Poe was able to publish frequently, but no one seemed to appreciate his work very much until well after he was found lying in a street in Baltimore” (Hope).

It is also good to mention Emily Dickenson who was similar to Poe:

Dickinson took obscurity to truly professional levels, mostly due to the fact that she never left her room. She published a handful of poems in her life, but after her death her family discovered how prolific she was. There were piles of poems, literally, which they published. Then people started to realize the recluse really had something to say. To the walls (Hope).

As can be seen, two very famous authors known for writing classics were not truly famous until after their deaths. This just goes to show that classic literature comes from people who can not only write well but have good taste for what is popular at the time or will be popular or got lucky, which is by far exceedingly uncommon but nonetheless just as qualifying.

Several things have been said and many things have been proven. The first is the definition of literature as a basis for further understanding; the second is popular literature does not always become classic and in fact most popular literature does not. Third, popular literature, at least in America, has been literature that had local or widespread influence and large appreciation from those within that influence. Some conclusions have been reached through some tedious if not well done logic.

Based on the fact most if not all American literature that became a classic was at one time famous we can say there is a direct correlation to a work becoming a classic and it being very popular, such that the popularity was one part of becoming classical. Also it has been said the classical works were very well done not only writing wise but also in a sense the authors could understand the mood and mindset of the general population and used it as a starting point for their literature. This does not mean they were dirty greed bags out for money and fame — some authors were quite poor. In fact, some just felt the need to write as a way to express themselves or due to some unknown urge to write.

It does mean, however, that the author was either very smart or very attentive or most likely both and undoubtedly very skilled in writing by either practice or natural skill. This leads to the conclusion classical literature is a piece of writing that became popular, was very well written by an author who could understand the mindset of the people of the time in order to attract such attention, and is now considered some of the best writing of American literature. With this information it is safe to say the topic of Classical American Literature can now be broached due to a thorough understanding of what makes the said literature classic.

Works Cited

“15 best North American novels of all time.” The Telegraph. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017.  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/10605407/15-best-North-American-novels-of-all-time.html

Gray, Richard. A History of American Literature. Blackwell Publishing, 2004.

Hope, Daniel. “11 authors who became famous after they died.” Lit Reactor. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017. https://litreactor.com/columns/11-authors-who-became-famous-after-they-died.

Lanzendorfer, Joy. “10 Facts about The Call of The Wild.” Mental Floss. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017. http://mentalfloss.com/article/66813/10-facts-about-call-wild.

—. “11 Facts about The Grapes of Wrath.” Mental Floss. Accessed 18 Oct. 2017. http://mentalfloss.com/article/68038/11-facts-about-grapes-wrath.

Laston, Jennifer “Why The Scarlet Letter Was a Mixed Blessing for Its Author.” TIME. Accessed 17 Oct. 2017. http://time.com/3742240/scarlet-letter-hawthorne-history/.

“Literature.” Merriam-Webster. Accessed 9 Oct. 2017. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/literature.