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Classic vs Best Seller

Decent Essays

Introduction: Bestseller versus classics has been a subject of controversy from the time immemorial. Many readers think of them being located poles apart. However, many think them to be complementary to each other. A classic, by nature, has to be a masterpiece, a gem written by the author in such a way that it is almost flawless, possess something that no other book has done. But unfortunately, by the very nature of the word ‘bestseller’, a piece of work has to pass through the rigours of trade, which, at times, favours glitz and advertising more than quality. Hence it is often found that a particular book has topped the best sellers chart for a considerable amount of time despite lacking in quality, mainly due to advertising and marketing …show more content…

Shakespeare’s superb tragedies like ‘Macbeth’ and ‘Othello’ remained for ages the perfect mould of great plays across the world as Kalidasa’s ‘Recognition of Sakuntala’ and ‘Meghdutam’ and the contemporary Sanskrit literature are regarded as the proud heritage by Indians. Wordsworth, Keats, Shelley, Tennyson, Kipling, Carroll, Jane Austin, Hemmingway, Tagore, Madhusudan, R K Rarayan, Sarat Chandra, etc. are some of those making the treasure trove of today’s literature that deserve one or more than one quality of the classic. On the other hand, there could be a classic that is bestseller at the same time.
In terms of other characteristics than antiquity, Leo Tolstoy, Anton Chekhov, Dostovosky, Gorky have made the landmarks such as ‘War and Peace’, ‘Anna Karenina’, ‘The Three Sisters’, ‘Cherry Orchard’, ‘Crime and Punishment’, ‘Idiot’, ‘Mother’, ‘The Lower Depth’ etc. in Russian literature guided the wave of the class consciousness. The object of classics has been best expressed in D H Lawrence’s observation: “No matter how much a shabby animal you may be, you can learn from Dostovosky, Chekhov, etc. how to have the most tender, unique, coruscating soul on earth.”
A bestseller is dominated by the consideration of its considerably large sale that is obviously related to trade. Naturally, the bestseller is a phenomenon cropping up in the modern market era of consumerism, when the

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