What is the best written work ever and what constitutes "good" writing?

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fuxberg

Well i don't know what's the best written work ever, but i'd say the Bible (you have to be a really good writer to fool so many people).

And for me good writing is a mix of factors such as: consistency, context, relevance, type of language and using figures of speech to toy with words.

Not many can do this. Only Yoda
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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fuxberg said:
Well i don't know what's the best written work ever, but i'd say the Bible (you have to be a really good writer to fool so many people).

And for me good writing is a mix of factors such as: consistency, context, relevance, type of language and using figures of speech to toy with words.

Not many can do this. Only Yoda
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Great post, I'm glad you revived this thread.
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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GreatGlistener said:
I have been told that it is the ULYSSES, written by JAMES JOYCE. Does this sound like an accurate answer?
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It's a great novel, but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "the best written work ever". It's a notion that is too subjective to be of any interest, anyway.
 
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Aazealh

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IncorrigibleThief said:
Too many goons here for me to count.
But I guess not enough for A Song of Ice and Fire to be brought up in this thread.
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And that's a good thing, because one would in fact be banned for bringing it up. :void:

Allow me to point out that you got the title wrong, though.
 
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GreatGlistener

Actually it is called Fire and Ice, and it's a good poem (not a song), but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "the best written work ever" (it's not even one of Frost's best).
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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GreatGlistener said:
Actually it is called Fire and Ice, and it's a good poem (not a song), but I wouldn't go so far as to call it "the best written work ever" (it's not even one of Frost's best).
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Haha, sorry but I think you're mistaken. Better luck next time though! :serpico:
 
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GreatGlistener

Well I'll be darned.

EDIT: By the way, though it may not be pertinent to the discussion in the least, I'd like to recommend a book called A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin.
 
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1cyberninja1

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What is the best written work ever?... To me it has to be To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee but that's just me.

What constitutes as "good" writting?... I don't know, I think any writing that kind of speaks to you on a certain level can be called "good" to say the least.
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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GreatGlistener said:
Well I'll be darned.

EDIT: By the way, though it may not be pertinent to the discussion in the least, I'd like to recommend a book called A Song of Ice and Fire by George RR Martin.
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Yeah... That's what we were talking about.
 
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Th3Branded0ne

I'll be back.
I don't know the best written work. There are many factors that constitute good writing. As long as you like it and it keeps you reading that's good enough of a reason for good writing. Well, not always, but most of the time.
I like "Don Quixote","Brave new world","McBeth","Tom Sawyer","Lord of the Flies" and many others.
 
Aazealh

Aazealh

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fuxberg said:
Does anyone here know about Eça de Queirós?

I'm not saying that he's the greatest writer ever, just wondering if you've ever heard of..
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Nope. Can you briefly introduce me to his work please? :serpico: I just read he liked France a lot.
 
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fuxberg

Lol

Well, he's on par with Dostoevsky and another European author (french, but i can't recall his name) as one of the best writers of the Realism/Romanticism movement;

His most famous works are:
"The Relic", 1887
"The Sin of Father Amaro", 1875
"Cousin Basílio", 1878
"The Maias", 1888

You've got this link about Eça's English Letters http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2000/dec/23/biography1

I've read "The Maias" and "The Relic" but i'm also familiarized with "The Sin of Father Amaro" (I think everyone in Latin countries have heard about this one).

Check it out, if it is your thing. Personally i like realism authors.
 
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einherjar

The Glorious Dead
I find that I can appreciate a work of literature for several different reasons:

Language / Vocabulary - To this end, I would cite authors like Tolkein or Poe, because I feel their command of the English language explored the nuances of connotation.

Allegory - A work I found particularly poignant was "Young Goodman Brown," by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Social / Political Commentary - Lord of the Flies, Brave New World, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. I particularly like the themes of Kesey's work, as they relate to the emasculation of men by society.

Characters - To me, Shakespeare's tragic heroes are some of the best written characters in the history of literature. The contrast between Brutus and Cassius in Julius Caesar. The fatal ambition of MacBeth.

:Sigh!: But if I had to pick just one work, it would be Milton's Paradise Lost. The epic of the English language, in Paradise Lost, John Milton combined all of the above factors into one masterwork. The language is beautiful and descriptive, the parallels between the fall of Satan and that of Man well drawn, the social commentary - in the context of the English Civil War, and Milton's own affiliation with Cromwell - intriguing, and Milton's Satan has been analyzed as both tragic hero and villian.
 
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Guts intestines

Yer breath is bad... It'll go away with yer head
A Tale of Two Cities, probably not "The best" but definitely up there, it has a lot of symbolism and plenty of allusions.
 
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