Why should you read Charles Dickens? - Iseult Gillespie
Vložit
- čas přidán 14. 05. 2024
- Check out our Patreon page: / teded
View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/why-should...
The starving orphan seeking a second helping of gruel. The spinster wasting away in her tattered wedding dress. The stone-hearted miser plagued by the ghost of Christmas past. More than a century after his death, these remain recognizable figures from the work of Charles Dickens. But what are the features of Dickens’ writing that make it so special? Iseult Gillespie investigates.
Lesson by Iseult Gillespie, directed by Compote Collective.
Thank you so much to our patrons for your support! Without you this video would not be possible! Hoang Viet, Sarah Yaghi, Peter Liu, Joris Debonnet, Bruno Pinho, Tim Armstrong, Katie Dean, Javier Aldavaz, Sage Curie, Husain Mohammad, Ahmad Hyari, Quinn Shen, Dmitry Neverov, Mrinalini , Fabian Amels, Antony Lee, Faiza Imtiaz, Noa Shore, Dominik Kugelmann, Max Shuai Tang, Alexander Walls, Tyler Yoshizumi, Sharon Chou, Jarrel Cacdac, Chris , Eunsun Kim, Noel Situ, Tushar Sharma, Juliana , Juan , eden sher, Della Palacios, Sarah Burns, Rahul Kamath, Philippe Spoden, Silas Schwarz, Samuel Doerle, Ishaq Al Kooheji, Mihail Radu Pantilimon, sammie goh, Janie Jackson, Hoai Nam Tran, Joe Sims, Lex Azevedo, Kiara Taylor, Jeff Hanevich, Be Owusu, Bryan Blankenburg, Elaine Fitzpatrick, Lorenzo Margiotta, Misaki Sato, Clair Chen, Mehmet Sencer KARADAYI, Yoga Trapeze Wanderlust, Miami Beach Family, Srikote Naewchampa, Louisa Lee, Vignan Velivela, Ophelia Gibson Best, Ezgi Yersu, Claudia Mayfield, Elizabeth Cruz, Ivan Tsenov, David PetroviÄ , Robson Martinho, Oyuntsengel Tseyen-Oidov, Marc Veale, Ayala Ron, Latora Slydell, Sydney Evans, Jose Henrique Leopoldo e Silva, Peter Koebel, Manognya Chakrapani, Activated Classroom Teaching,
Joy Love Om, Exal Enrique Cisneros Tuch, Bev Millar, Filip Dabrowski, Patrick leaming, nai tzu yang, Victor E Karhel, Simon Holst Ravn, Mattia Veltri, Christophe Dessalles, Manav parmar, Zhexi Shan, Craig Sheldon, Martin Lõhmus, Phyllis Dubrow, Ricardo Diaz, Martin Stephen, QIUJING L BU, Michael James Busa, Begum Tutuncu, Joe Giamartino, Umar Farooq, Travis Wehrman, Rakshit Kothari, Ghassan Alhazzaa, Andreas Voltios, Anthony Kudolo, Peter Owen, Aleksandar Srbinovski, Bernardo Paulo, Brittiny Elman, Znosheni Kedy, Aaron Henson, Joanne Luce, Julie Cummings-Debrot, Cas Jamieson, Boris Langvand, Andrew Sleugh, Dalton Valette, Quentin Le Menez, Fabio Peters, Minh Tran, Ex Foedus, Rodrigo Carballo, Bah Becerra, Ana Maria, Mridul Goswami, Joe Huang, Mayra Urbano, Clement , Dwight Tevuk , Gi Nam Lee, Jamerson Chingapanini, salman bheriyani, Ricki Daniel Marbun, MJ Tan Mingjie, Milad Mostafavi, Jun Cai, Bojana Golubovic, Patch Richy, Megan Douglas, Hugo Legorreta, Marc Bilodeau, Megan Whiteleather, Antonio Bianco, Renhe Ji, Tim Robinson, Sama aafghani, Lyn-z Schulte, Jhuval , Kris Siverhus, Clarence E. Harper Jr., Mauro Pellegrini, Kack-Kyun Kim, Jose Mamattah, Runarm , Kiarash Asar, Bartlomiej Czubak, Carolyn Corwin, Querida Owens, Roz AR, rakesh Katragadda.
The unique thing about Dickens is his characterization. He knew people inside out and portrayed characters in such wonderfully quirky and dramatic ways that no other author can touch.
Great comment; that is exactly what struck me as the genius of Dickens, too!
Balzac.
@@kuroyami84 thanks for putting me onto another great writer.
@@jam-tg3jv No problem. Balzac obviously had a huge influence on Dickens. I sincerely encourage you to read Balzac, a monument of french and maybe universal litterature, surely the most productive of his century.
True, albeit at times his characters are not convincing; are mere caricatures.
I love Dickens. The narrator forgot to mention how beautiful his writing is; and how every character, no matter how important or obscure, is ultimately connected.
Hello Aunt Becky…
Another great comment; wonderful how all the myriad threads ultimately resolve!
My life has been deeply enriched by writers like Dickens.
@@koleyw932 ❤
Can we talk about the beautiful animation of this video though?
It reminded me of the '' Tale of Three Brothers”.
No kidding, I was in awe.
Yes
rightly observed man...!
It's truly amazing
“Reading Dickens is the best of time for the reader while being the worst of times for his characters” .. couldn’t have worded it better !
3:41 3:53 agreed
The first time and the word reader in your sentence should be times and readers.
I think that would be an improvement.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
Description Untitled " A tale of two cities" :-) indeed a book worth reading...
Description Untitled sorry I forgot my poem
And I'm bored already with such redundancy.
What
Woah!tale of two cities!
When I was 20, I sat down with a dictionary and challenged myself to read ‘David Copperfield’ over the span of six weeks. It was one of the most fulfilling experiences of my youth and have me the courage to read Dostoyevsky and Schopenhauer.
Dostoevsky is much easier, or at least Crime and Punishment is. I’m reading Gogol’s Dead Souls before I finish Dostoevsky’s work, which is also great btw.
That's good for you!
I read David Copperfield in the 5th grade. My ten year old self finished it in 3 days and didn't know what to make of it. The only thing I remember is that EVERYONE dies......I guess that's the result of being a precocious reader.
I think i want to try doing that i'll start after christmas break.
Read game of thrones lol
The plot dickens
Yes!! I'm gonna use that
Beautiful
.....the pace quickens, the reader sickens......
David Gohmann Ehyyyy!!! 👈😎👈
I love it.
People may live for some time...But their Works remain Alive Forever....
A. G. Jn9
Nah! Everything will one day turn into oblivion.
Not when we all die
Karma
I agree, Charles Dickens works are immortal.
I’ve only read two books of his at the moment. The first was Great Expectations; second is A Tale of Two Cities. By the first book alone, he instantly became my favorite author! His stories have all the elements I consider as great in a book!
Is the pfp from Chihayafuru?
@@priyadarshiashokgautam2455 yesss 😄
My favorite classic is "A tale of two cities".
rakesh .m I cried when they were walking to the gallows ! That maid !
Is it available as pdf
I had to read it for school and didnt really like it :/
I was 8 when I read Oliver Twist. It really struck me.
Noooooo, Sydney's death was uncalled for! And what happened to Me. Defarge after his wife died? It left me with more questions than answers
The book that brought me into the world of Charles Dickens was "Great Expectations." I absolutely loved it and I have been a dedicated fan ever since.
Next video: why you should read Fyodor Dostoyevsky
ahmedsafaa1000 i totally agree! both dickens and dostoevsky write about humanity!
ahmedsafaa1000 edit:
Next video: why you should read Fyodor Dostoevsky, the greatest author of all time.
Victor Hugo anyone?
@@Sameer_Hussain_007 He kept a portrait of Dickens above his desk wherever he lived.
Look up the debate of who is greater. It's here on YT.
A Christmas Carol is on my Christmas reading list, I've read Oliver Twist twice too. Love his stories and the way he tells it.
Did you end up reading it?
Dickens is like the Bach of literature: in the same way that Bach meticulously interweaves multiple melodies into a piece of music, so too does Dickens thread characters, plots and sub-plots together into a seamless narrative.
It makes me so happy to see so many people still reading Dickens's books today, it feels like he's still with us and we're reading contemporary literature
Lawrence2525 you may like this video I recently made about Charles Dickens. czcams.com/video/GcqjssXC6RQ/video.html
His work is still relevant to us.
Monsour Palmeira - more than you know!
Great video, but I ain't reading a dickens book
Boring? Who said that???! His books are so humorous and breathtaking!!
Charles Dickens is my most favorite author,
It's a hereditary in my family.
My grandfather used to read a lot of his books and used to love his novels.
My Dad is also his fan
And even he is my favorite too.
I don't like him just because it's my Hereditary but I genuinely like Him.
My dad told me that even my great grandfather too was his fan.
Love from India 🇮🇳🇮🇳
This is amazing😍
Amazing❤️✅
Hey,which book will you recommend to someone who wanna read book from this author very 1st time ?
@@nikkitikki2701I know I'm a year late for this reply but wanted to answer your question. I would highly recommend starting with " A tale of two cities" or " Oliver twist" or "a Christmas Carol" good luck on your Charles Dickens journey! 🤍
Yeah, his work is pretty interesting and reflects the Britain during that time well.
The animation in this video is very stunning by the way.
I went through a very dark period in 2015 when l lost my job. The events surrounding it, left me shattered, deeply depressed and temporarily unemployable. What held me together was reading Charles Dickens. All of Dickens. I lost myself in the trials and tribulations of his characters. Wept with them, laughed with them and ultimately, I found a new faith in the human race. Long live Charles Dickens.
'A Christmas Carol', was the biggest gift I'd gotten in my childhood
Thank you for making this 💜
I just finished writing my Master's degree thesis about Dickens' Bleak House! One of my main points was that there is great value in reading literature like Bleak House. ♥️♥️♥️
I'd love to read your thesis, to be honest!
Oliver twist was the first novel I have ever read .. I was 12 i guess and I still remember myself crying on oliver saying"sir I want some more" ....and how he had to work with the coffin maker...it is still so clear in my mind🙃
I was around 10 when I read David Copperfield and Oliver Twist. I cried for weeks.
Well...I am not that small (19 now) and currently reading Oliver twist...and yes I am loving it and crying too...🌼 Such a beautiful story and amazing writing ❤️
same I’ve read it at 13 and i loved it so much
Did you read the abridged version or original one?
Charles Dickens was a great writer. A tale of two cities should win him a Nobel prize in literature if the award existed in his days.
Dickens is one of my favorite writers & inspirations.
I too spoke of the importance of Charles Dickens in this video:
czcams.com/video/GcqjssXC6RQ/video.html
Never said anything about that, or asked about your video. Just said I liked Dickens.
Please never stop making these videos, I discovered them about a year ago and have now see them all. Thank you.
Great Expectations: The most facinating story I have read, after *The Count of Monte Cristo*. And it's interesting to note that both authors were contemporaries
I love count of Monte Cristo. I read it ages back but I still remember it vividly.
I love the Broadway and movie, yet to read the book yet though!
You should also read Alexandre Dumas
Coincidentally, I just finished Great Expectations and will be reading The Count of Monte Cristo next :) Great Expectations is a masterpiece. I can't wait to start The Count of Monte Cristo!
In addition to his storytelling prowess, Charles Dickens was a genius prose stylist.
The 'Why should you read...' series on Ted-Ed, on youtube is such great initiative to encourage people to read the classics of English Literature. Hope it continues. Also, it opens up such a huge possibility of making similar series for classics written in other languages as well (eg. classics of Bengali literature like the works of Rabindranath Tagore). Wish to see that happening in the near future.
Me too
Really well done Animation
oh yes, the animation is amazing!
I totally agree
czcams.com/users/shortsSZ_gQGueZjM?feature=share
Don't forget the beauty of his language- his descriptions are unmatched, he was a master of both understatement and hyperbole, he's the only writer I know who can pile on subordinate clauses, and not only make them readable but wonderful.
He had a deep understanding of human nature, and understood psychology before psychology was a thing. He had a deep and contagious sympathy for all of humanity, in all our glorious imperfections. In what made us awful, and what made us marvelous. . .
This was incredible; the music, graphics and voice kept me hooked. I'll be finishing Great Expectations because of this.
This video is perfect! The content, the animation and of course music! Splendid work!
The animation in this video is gorgeous!
Artists need more recognition and credit.
Please do "Why should you read Les Misérables" next!
Hugo first!
Yes!
You shouldn’t. It’s really only interesting if you’re into really niche French History. If you want the story, watch the musical.
@@ZoraTheberge The movie is brilliant, yes!
I respect people who've read Lés Misérables. It was impossible for me to go further after all that history rant. I slept through it. It was heartbreaking.
It is cool that he was so contemporary to his time but his work still remains timeless.
Read Dickens at age 15, had Excellent Effect on my writing style, thank you, Mister Dickens
Thanks, Ted-ed! It is truly the best of times, always watching your lessons!
czcams.com/users/shortsSZ_gQGueZjM?feature=share
When I read "The haunted Man and The Ghost's Bargain", I felt that the translator could teach me how to speak and I used the highlighter so many times. In "Our mutual Friend", no one could guess that the schoolmaster was the bad guy and the lawyers were the good guys
Are you from sudan or not
Saudi Arabia
'...brooding settings, plot twists, and mysteries... colourful characters... intricate social backdrops... sparkling language and panoramic world-view continue to resonate' - they do indeed! Great summary, and fab animation and sound. Particularly liked the use of the marionette imagery in relation to Pip in Great Expectations. Thanks for the watch!
I know it sounds pretentious but I’ll read Dickens before anyone else. Not trying to dismiss anyone’s work but nobody hooks me like Dickens.
@@user-yi5mt2df5q it sounds neither, just exaggerative
how old are you?
I think this is a well presented and beautifully animated piece. I love Dickens' stories. Rereading The Pickwick Papers in Winter , in a warm pub, and with a pint of bitter to keep me company is a little bit of Heaven. To all you fellow Dickens lovers, I say, "Cheers!"
Bleak House,Oliver Twist and Christmas Carol are my favorite books written by Dickens
I love these videos and wow the animation is breathtaking, well done!
One of the secrets to immortality is art, and literature is a prominent part of this
That is not how I expected the word Dickens’ to sound
How did u expect it to sound ? I used to think it was disk-ens as a kid
The Groovy Guitar Dude - Daily Guitar Lessons Dickens’=Dickens’s=“Dicken-sis”
@Philip Friesen czcams.com/video/IhUhQlXaLUI/video.html
pretty sus if you ask me
Big part of my thesis this year is on Charles dickens and his contribution to the reformation of Middle class perceptions of the working class, the guy is an absolute legend
YO! Can I just say that the MUSIC in this video is absolutely amazing!! Everything fits perfectly. Great animation as well!
*Oliver twist; one of my favorite novels! so sad and so dramatic novel ✨💔!!*
A Christmas Carol is one of my favorite books.
One of the things I enjoy about reading books from over 100 years ago is that it gives you a small insight into how people spoke, lived, and thought at that time. It helps you understand the past. It's why I hate people who complain that any particular book offends "modern" sensibilities.
czcams.com/users/shortsSZ_gQGueZjM?feature=share
Very interesting and true! I'm so glad that I've read some of his books!
Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!
Dam this animation is good. The music to go along with it is great. Well done👏🏽
illustartions were awesome and ceative! The background music and the narration... hooked me to the video!
I took on "Bleak House" once upon a time, a few years back. It took me a month to read it all the way through, and when completed, I literally gave myself a pat on the shoulders, so proud was I. I then started reading it again. It's my favorite, aside from "David Copperfield".
Dickens has a lot of creativity
Speaking of the names of his characters, loved the Boffin's, Silas Wegg, Gaffer, Rogue Ryderhood, Sloppy and Jenny Wren of Our Mutual Friend. First saw the production with Anna Friel as Bella Wilfer and Steven Macintosh as John Rokesmith / John Harmon, then heard a reading of it and loved it even more. His last work and so much dark humor, sentiment without sentimentality and two great, great characters who face off- Rogue Ryderhood and the doomed Bradley Headstone. Genius!!!
Like Shakespeare, Charles Dickens was a GENIUS!!!
Dickens is my favourite author. Much of his work was poetic, such as the death/train passage from Dombey and Son.
Dickens spent a great deal of his time on the train and was involved in a train crash with many fatalities, whilst travelling with his mistress.
PLEASE MAKE MORE OF THESE
Amazing! I love TedEd’s Literature videos!
3:43 What I look like when I'm dancing
I must point to the fact that Your videos are one kind of masterpieces themselves. ☺️
Very enjoyable preview of Dickens' work and themes.
Background music was so eerie... amazing!
“There are dark shadows on the earth, but its lights are stronger in the contrast
-Charles Dickens The Pickwick Papers
Charles Dickens was mandatory read in high school (SoCal)!! So was Shakespeare.. I don't know about now...
A Tale of Two Cities and Romeo and Juliette for me, respectively.
I enjoyed Dickens at school, but found Shakespeare hard going. It wasn't until I saw Shakespeare performed on the stage that I started to enjoy his works.
You guys are amazing and your efforts dont go unnoticed. Keep creating. We'll keep supporting :)
czcams.com/users/shortsSZ_gQGueZjM?feature=share
PLEASE MAKE MORE OF THESE.
Ted-ed could you plz make a video about “why you should read the sound and the fury” by William Faulkner
Thank you
I've read Oliver Twist three times, the simplified version for school kids, the first edition and the audiobook, I love it.
I love Dickens, not only for his language, but also for his characters. Newman Noggs is such a wonderful part of Nicholas Nickelby. Jenny Wren in Our Mutual Friend; Mr Guppy, Caddy Jellyby, and Jo from Bleak House. I could go on. His longer novels are more complex, and also have some of the best minor characters. LibriVox has some good readings of his books, look for the 2nd or 3rd versions, these are free, you don’t even need a library card.
I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
A tale of two cities
INCREDIBLE ANIMATION!
this animation is an aesthetical masterpiece
Please make these kind of videos about the authors and poets of all time ✨
A great writer ..his words as if touching every heart
Yes i love Charles Dickens!♡
Something very interesting is that many of his novels center around poverty in some way, but dickens was actually quite rich himself.
Allie Nold he was poor when we was young though. Wasn't he?
Allie Nold
Did you not watch the whole video mate? They told you about his childhood working in the factory. Watch again, with volume up.
He became "rich " by hardworking. he experienced poverty, richness and the duality of the city he tales.
Allie Nold you should learn the context. He grew up poor and got into rich property like Pip from Great expectations. But Dickens criticises/satirises Victorian society
No he wasnt. He was very poor as a boy, worked hard and rose to a comfortable position in middle class society
I have seen a lot of videos of Ted Ed and it's animation is sooo good
Love the animation and the lesson you taught .. thanks
Me when I saw the title: Well, because HE IS THE BEST! currently reading his first The Pickwick Papers and I am totally entranced! Can express enough how fond I am of his books!!
the Great Expectation was a mind blown. it's just depressing too, great writing. i wrote a blog about that book. i love it.
czcams.com/users/shortsSZ_gQGueZjM?feature=share
I just read the Christmas Carol in class so I'm so excited about this video!
There is just something captivating about the settings of his stories. Like caught between the old and modern world.
As a person who grew up reading Dickens, this is by far my favourite video by TED-ed. Undoubtedly, Charles Dickens is one of the best authors ever lived.❤️
My favorite Author's in the world 💜 charles Dickens and mark Twain 💜
Great video, as always❤
The animation is just lovely.
Charles dickens is my favorite author hands down!
I love Charles, and there's a movie coming for him
NhomL I too spoke of the importance of Charles Dickens in this video:
czcams.com/video/GcqjssXC6RQ/video.html
Stunning,beautiful animation
Love this video. I'm studying whit this for a test at school (I'm Italian), it can help me... thank you!
I tried reading Great Expectations, but his writing style is completely different from what I'm used to and it's hard to adjust to it. There are also a bit too many difficult words for me, so I decided to give it a try later again lol
Iris de Graaf 😺 Well done! That is exactly what you should have done. Let time pass and experience grow, then try again. You should never feel that you have to like Dickens or any author. I am a now retired English teacher but I cannot read Jane Austin! Oh dear! All I would ask is that you never give up reading; it is one of our greatest intellectual achievements.
Just keep reading! Not only will learning his sentence structures and vocabulary keep you motivated; but you will be able to read even more complex work by other authors. I myself had a lot difficulty with Dostoyevsky but I adjusted to his vocabulary and was able to completely understand the book in it's entirety.
You could start with Hard Times, it's shorter and lighter imo, and the plot is so good!
English is my second language, but I’m quite comfortable with it, and I’ve been reading some classics in English for awhile.
Great Expectations was the first book I ever had to by in my native language in order to understand the story. That was a blow to my self steam 😂 But now I’m reading Oliver Twist without too much difficulty. Maybe Dickens’s earlier work is easier? Just a theory
@@ludmilamaiolini6811 Hi Ludmila, I think it is more likely that your understanding of English has improved to the point where you can fully understand and enjoy classic Victorian British novels. I read 'Great Expectations' at school when I was 14 or 15 and really enjoyed the book. I'd suggest you try reading 'Great Expectations' again when you have time and use a good quality dictionary like 'The Shorter Oxford Dictionary' (paperback version) when you come across words you don't fully understand.
As a 13 year old, I'm pleased that I've read Oliver Twist. The book (no extracts) all of it. Word to Word.
I'm starting to see why non-bookworms call a 150 page book long and exhausting.
That’s such a great book. All the scenes with the thieves are so great and memorable.
Can you please do a video on reading Ernest Hemingway?
Amaaazing video as always btw
Extraordinary presentation of an extraordinary mind. ❤️
My fav is called “Oliver twist”
Never heard of that one, is it good?!
@@MrCushcam That sarcasm though
@@suryashekharbiswas7229 You know it
Please do a version of difference between intellectual person and intelligent person
I have never read any of Charles Dickens books before. But, I happen to have a book of all his short stories that I haven’t touched yet. Got it free from the shelf of free books at the library and I’m pretty excited to crack it open. This video couldn’t come in a better time.
Olivier twist is a great story, A Christmas Carol is my favorite.