literature

After a few months of lockdowns, we're pretty sure that a lot of you have crossed a lot of books off your reading lists. Or maybe you've been reading for school. Or started a Zoom book club. Or you just love working your way through literature. Whatever category you fall into, if you read you're pretty much guaranteed to love these memes about classic books and their characters. 

If you're looking to distract yourself from the responsibilities of the real world, you've come to the right place. We've spent years of our lives procrastinating, so we've got it down to a science. All you need to excel at this art is a finger and a whole lot of memes. We've got the latter covered right here. Have fun. 

After years of studying the works of famed author Alexandre Dumas - both fiction (The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo) and nonfiction political writings - it's alarming that professors never told us that the French writer was black. And according to this Tumblr thread, we were not alone. The Hatian-born Dumas was a prolific hero of French literature. So why is his race not talked about? This thread deals with these injustices, and sheds light on Dumas' many accomplishments, his interests, and his unapologetic sass. Enjoy. 

Are you a smart person? Did you study philosophy? Are you into...theory? Well, these memes are for you. They're heady. They're philosophical. And they love to name-check Foucault. While we're not expecting everyone to *get* each image macro, we love that they exist at the bizarre intersection of academia and easily digestible humor. And if you crave more? Check out Welcome to the Desert of the Meme. The page is in the process of pivoting to Instagram, but you can soak up their classics on the ol' FB. 

With nearly everyone in lockdown due to the pandemic, a lot more people seem to be dusting off the books from their shelves and getting their read on. That's all well and good, but we prefer to get our reading done in a more meme-centric way. These text tidbits from SparkNotes manage to combine literature and memes in a way that can satisfy our need for memes as well as the more cultured readers.  The texts basically take literature's great lover-boys and imagine how they'd behave with an iPhone. The results are pretty priceless. 

Some memes just speak the truth in the strangest ways, and this one is of no exception. How many times have you opened the first page of a book and had your eyes assaulted by the artistic enormity that is the first letter of the chapter? It's a weird thought, but it's one that we can pretty much all relate to.

While these AP Literature memes barely scratch the surface of the coursework, we think that there are a lot of students who will relate to the themes of these school memes.Many of the memes are references to works such as The Landlady and William Dean Howells' The Rise of Silas Lapham, but there are other memes here for those of you who managed to skim those assignments. Happy scrolling, and good luck with your course load. Yourcollege selfwill thank you.

Ah, high school. Back when we'd sit in AP English class and listen to the teacher go on about the supposed symbolism in classic works of literature for what felt like hours. Lo and behold, it's entirely possible that some writers just want to write a damn sentence that doesn't contain some sort of brilliant imagery.

All the way back in 2013, a Tumblr user pointed out the line "What, you egg?" in Shakespeare's MacBeth. Was Shakespeare trying to convey some sort of secret meaning here? It's possible, but it's more likely he just wanted to throw in a silly insult.

These comics from Wrong Handsreally cater to the bookworms and lovers of literature. The artist, John Atkinson of Ottawa, Ontarios, has a real knack for poking fun at literary masters and readers alike. It's nice to see our love of the written word so beautifully wedded to amusing comics. If you like what you see, give Atkinson's feed a follow and check out his book.

There are times when the internet really surprises you with its out-of-the-blue creative genius. However, this is not one of those times. These poems are terrible, but who cares because this isn't your f*cking AP high school English class and no one needs to be analyzing the symbolism behind the blue curtains.

Good news for meme-loving bookworms: Turns out that SparkNotes is more than just a helpful cramming tool. Their Instagram account is an absolute goldmine of memes combining our favorite books with shows like The Office, Arrested Development, and Parks and Rec. If you like what you see here, give 'em a follow!