Writings in the United Amateur, 1915-1922 Part 24

(1) Erroneous plurals of nouns, as =vallies= or =echos=.

(2) Barbarous compound nouns, as =viewpoint= or =upkeep=.

(3) Want of correspondence in number between noun and verb where the two are widely separated or the construction involved.

(4) Ambiguous use of p.r.o.nouns.

(5) Erroneous case of p.r.o.nouns, as =whom= for =who=, and vice versa, or phrases like "between you and =I=," or "Let =we= who are loyal, act promptly."

(6) Erroneous use of =shall= and =will=, and of other auxiliary verbs.

(7) Use of intransitive for transitive verbs, as "he =was graduated= from college," or vice versa, as "he =ingratiated= with the tyrant."

(8) Use of nouns for verbs, as "he =motored= to Boston," or "he =voiced= a protest."

(9) Errors in moods and tenses of verbs, as "If I =was= he, I should do otherwise," or "He said the earth =was= round."

(10) The split infinitive, as "=to= calmly =glide=."

(11) The erroneous perfect infinitive, as "Last week I expected =to have met= you."

(12) False verb-forms, as "I =pled= with him."

(13) Use of =like= for =as=, as "I strive to write =like= Pope wrote."

(14) Misuse of prepositions, as "The gift was bestowed =to= an unworthy object," or "The gold was divided =between= the five men."

(15) The superfluous conjunction, as "I wish =for= you to do this."

(16) Use of words in wrong =senses=, as "The book greatly =intrigued= me," "=Leave= me take this," "He was =obsessed= with the idea," or "He is a =meticulous= writer."

(17) Erroneous use of non-Anglicised foreign forms, as "a strange =phenomena=," or "two =stratas= of clouds."

(18) Use of false or unauthorized words, as =burglarize= or =supremest=.

(19) Errors of taste, including vulgarisms, pompousness, repet.i.tion, vagueness, ambiguousness, colloquialism, bathos, bombast, pleonasm, tautology, harshness, mixed metaphor, and every sort of rhetorical awkwardness.

(20) Errors of spelling and punctuation, and confusion of forms such as that which leads many to place an apostrophe in the possessive p.r.o.noun =its=.

Of all blunders, there is hardly one which might not be avoided through diligent study of simple textbooks on grammar and rhetoric, intelligent perusal of the best authors, and care and forethought in composition.

Almost no excuse exists for their persistent occurrence, since the sources of correction are so numerous and so available. Many of the popular manuals of good English are extremely useful, especially to persons whose reading is not as yet extensive; but such works sometimes err in being too pedantically precise and formal. For correct writing, the cultivation of patience and mental accuracy is essential. Throughout the young author's period of apprenticeship, he must keep reliable dictionaries and textbooks at his elbow; eschewing as far as possible that hasty extemporaneous manner of writing which is the privilege of more advanced students. He must take no popular usage for granted, nor must he ever hesitate, in case of doubt, to fall back on the authority of his books.

Reading

No aspiring author should content himself with a mere acquisition of technical rules. As Mrs. Renshaw remarked in the preceding article, "Impression should ever precede and be stronger than expression." All attempts at gaining literary polish must begin with judicious =reading=, and the learner must never cease to hold this phase uppermost. In many cases, the usage of good authors will be found a more effective guide than any amount of precept. A page of Addison or of Irving will teach more of style than a whole manual of rules, whilst a story of Poe's will impress upon the mind a more vivid notion of powerful and correct description and narration than will ten dry chapters of a bulky textbook. Let every student read unceasingly the best writers, guided by the admirable Reading Table which has adorned the UNITED AMATEUR during the past two years.

It is also important that cheaper types of reading, if hitherto followed, be dropped. Popular magazines inculcate a careless and deplorable style which is hard to unlearn, and which impedes the acquisition of a purer style. If such things must be read, let them be skimmed over as lightly as possible. An excellent habit to cultivate is the a.n.a.lytical study of the King James Bible. For simple yet rich and forceful English, this masterly production is hard to equal; and even though its Saxon vocabulary and poetic rhythm be unsuited to general composition, it is an invaluable model for writers on quaint or imaginative themes. Lord Dunsany, perhaps the greatest living prose artist, derived nearly all of his stylistic tendencies from the Scriptures; and the contemporary critic Boyd points out very acutely the loss sustained by most Catholic Irish writers through their unfamiliarity with the historic volume and its traditions.

Vocabulary

One superlatively important effect of wide reading is the enlargement of vocabulary which always accompanies it. The average student is gravely impeded by the narrow range of words from which he must choose, and he soon discovers that in long compositions he cannot avoid monotony. In reading, the novice should note the varied mode of expression practiced by good authors, and should keep in his mind for future use the many appropriate synonymes he encounters. Never should an unfamiliar word be pa.s.sed over without elucidation; for with a little conscientious research we may each day add to our conquests in the realm of philology, and become more and more ready for graceful independent expression.

But in enlarging the vocabulary, we must beware lest we misuse our new possessions. We must remember that there are fine distinctions betwixt apparently similar words, and that language must ever be selected with intelligent care. As the learned Dr. Blair points out in his Lectures, "Hardly in any language are there two words that convey precisely the same idea; a person thoroughly conversant in the propriety of language will always be able to observe something that distinguishes them."

Elemental Phases

Before considering the various formal cla.s.ses of composition, it is well to note certain elements common to them all. Upon a.n.a.lysis, every piece of writing will be found to contain one or more of the following basic principles: =Description=, or an account of the appearance of things; =Narration=, or an account of the actions of things; =Exposition=, which defines and explains with precision and lucidity; =Argument=, which discovers truth and rejects error; and =Persuasion=, which urges to certain thoughts or acts. The first two are the bases of fiction; the third didactic, scientific, historical and editorial writings. The fourth and fifth are mostly employed in conjunction with the third, in scientific, philosophical, and partisan literature. All these principles, however, are usually mingled with one another. The work of fiction may have its scientific, historical, or argumentative side; whilst the textbook or treatise may be embellished with descriptions and anecdotes.

Description

Description, in order to be effective, calls upon two mental qualities; observation and discrimination. Many descriptions depend for their vividness upon the accurate reproduction of details; others upon the judicious selection of salient, typical, or significant points.

One cannot be too careful in the selection of adjectives for descriptions. Words or compounds which describe precisely, and which convey exactly the right suggestions to the mind of the reader, are essential. As an example, let us consider the following list of epithets applicable to a =fountain=, taken from Richard Green Parker's admirable work on composition.

Crystal, gushing, rustling, silver, gently-gliding, parting, pearly, weeping, bubbling, gurgling, chiding, clear, gra.s.s-fringed, moss-fringed, pebble-paved, verdant, sacred, gra.s.s-margined, moss-margined, trickling, soft, dew-sprinkled, fast-flowing, delicate, delicious, clean, straggling, dancing, vaulting, deep-embosomed, leaping, murmuring, muttering, whispering, prattling, twaddling, swelling, sweet-rolling, gently-flowing, rising, sparkling, flowing, frothy, dew-distilling, dew-born, exhaustless, inexhaustible, never-decreasing, never-failing, heaven-born, earth-born, deep-divulging, drought-dispelling, thirst-allaying, refreshing, soul-refreshing, earth-refreshing, laving, lavish, plant-nourishing.

For the purpose of securing epithets at once accurate and felicitous, the young author should familiarize himself thoroughly with the general aspect and phenomena of Nature, as well as with the ideas and a.s.sociations which these things produce in the human mind.

Descriptions may be of objects, of places, of animals, and of persons.

The complete description of an object may be said to consist of the following elements:

1. When, where, and how seen; when made or found; how affected by time.

2. History and traditional a.s.sociations.

3. Substance and manner of origin.

4. Size, shape, and appearance.

5. a.n.a.logies with similar objects.

6. Sensations produced by contemplating it.

7. Its purpose or function.

8. Its effects--the results of its existence.

Descriptions of places must of course vary with the type of the place.

Of natural scenery, the following elements are notable:

1. How beheld--at dawn, noon, evening, or night; by starlight or moonlight.

2. Natural features--flat or hilly; barren or thickly grown; kind of vegetation; trees, mountains, and rivers.

3. Works of man--cultivation, edifices, bridges; modifications of scenery produced by man.