Classics

Kristin Smith is wondering what makes a work a classic. I don't think there's any single answer to this question. The best you can do is probably something general, like a work which large numbers of people have found worth reading over a period of time. The reasons why they might read it, however, can vary. That's why I disagree with her dismissal of, say, Stephen King's chances of being remembered. A work can become a classic simply because it's well-written, regardless of it's intellectual value. After all, has The Three Musketeers really changed anyone's life? What about Around the World in Eighty Days? As long as readers can relate to the world in which a great story is set, it has a chance to be remembered.