Nada answers “How do I understand the language in Pride...”

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!

Nada Adel When I first read Pride and Prejudice, I felt really dumb. Writing styles change over time, and can be quite difficult to read smoothly. Do not focus …moreWhen I first read Pride and Prejudice, I felt really dumb. Writing styles change over time, and can be quite difficult to read smoothly. Do not focus on the individual words but read the whole paragraph and try to grab the general idea of it. What helped a lot while I was reading it, is that I checked online summaries for each chapter, like for example, after reading the first chapter, go to Google and write "Pride and Prejudice chapter 1 summary". There's a website called Shmoop that contains summaries of every chapter of any classic novel. This helped me a lot actually.

Also, I suggest you watch the BBC adaptation tv series that was made in the 1990s. It's very close to the books (don't watch the movies) and very entertaining. It will help you understand who all the different characters are and the language will become more familiar.(less)

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Nada Adel Yes, you'll definitely enjoy it. And Colin Firth was excellent as Mr. Darcy. ...more
Feb 20, 2015 11:35PM · flag

Georgia The BBC version makes it so much easier - that's how I read it as a 12 year old! It is such an amazing book!! ...more
Sep 07, 2015 12:19AM · flag

Kristine I found Cliff Notes online which summarizes a few chapters at a time. I would read the chapters and make sure I understood what was happening. As I re ...more
Dec 06, 2020 07:24AM · flag

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Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen

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