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Sadie asked this question about Pride and Prejudice:
How do I understand the language in Pride and Prejudice? I'm 13 and we haven't studied it in school but I would like to read it for fun but I can't understand even the first page! Can someone please help me out!
Lian Celestino Try asking someone else to explain - or heck, use the Internet.
By the way, kudos to you! I also read Pride and Prejudice at twelve, just for fun! The…moreTry asking someone else to explain - or heck, use the Internet.
By the way, kudos to you! I also read Pride and Prejudice at twelve, just for fun! Then again, I'm a girl who reads Madeleine L'Engle and Rick Riordan all the time so I'm a bit unusual. I understood most of it the first time, but again, I'm weird.
So try untangling phrases at a time. "It is a truth universally acknowledged'... okay, so that means everyone knows it's the truth. '...that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.' Okay, that means a well-off single dude should get married! Now just untangle all the phrases this way and it'll work out. By the time you get to the sparring of Elizabeth and Darcy, you'll understand enough to enjoy it.
Or watch the movies online first. That worked for me when I struggled to wade through Austen's word flood. Seeing the 1995 BBC episode while I read was helpful. I suggest you watch an episode, then read as far as the episode extends, then watch the next one, and so on. Just read the last part before you watch episode 6, because it's just... well. You'll see.
There are just so many ways to get through original text. Ask other people, use the Internet, take advantage of the media, so many!(less)
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Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
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