Use ‘terse’ to describe or characterize brevity in writing or speech.
He was not long-winded; on the contrary, he expressed himself in terse statements, pausing to compose his thoughts after each utterance.
Use ‘circumspect’ for diplomacy or restraint in a person’s behavior, attitude or speech.
The congresswoman had stated that the Air Force general was sure to be indicted, but today she was more circumspect in her comments about the case. (adapted from an example on superiorvocabulary.com)
Use ‘amorphous’ to describe an attitude, a statement, or an object that is indistinct.
Most people found the cloud to be amorphous, but Paul insisted that it closely resembled the shape of a turtle.
Use ‘evoke’ as a near-synonym for the word ‘express’, especially in the sense of emitting a certain aura, feeling, reminder, attitude or idea.
Her thoughtful words evoked the wisdom of Socrates.
'Music is used to evoke a particular mood.' (adapted from Australia Network)
Fitzgerald’s writing evokes the spirit of the Roaring Twenties.
Use ‘invoke’ for the act of calling on a higher authority, especially in connection with writing, speech, religion, or the law.
The witness invoked his 5th Amendment right to remain silent.
His poetry invokes the subtle interior rhythms of Shakespeare’s sonnets.
Use the verb ‘to cleave’ to express the act of slicing or splitting. (The past tense of ‘cleave’ is ‘cleft’ or (still more confusingly) ‘cloven’.)
He can cleave a thick steak into two equal portions with a single blow of his hatchet.
Conversely, use the expression “cleave to” as a synonym for “cling to” or “adhere to,” especially with respect to unwavering loyalty in human relationships.
The faithful husband cleaves to his wife.
To feign means “to pretend,” but the word is used a particular way:
He feigned ignorance as a way to avoid testifying in court.
Please don’t try to feign modesty; I know you are quietly gloating on the inside.
(The latter example comes from http://vocabulary-vocabulary.com/dictionary/feign.php)
Originally used to describe ancient texts excluded from the Bible (‘apo’ = beyond or outside of; ‘cryph’ = scripture), the word ‘apocryphal’ is used today to characterize statements that are outlandishly false or misleading.
Some people claim that the story of George Washington and the cherry tree is apocryphal – a myth designed to inspire children’s patriotism.
The traveling salesman made apocryphal claims about the healing powers of the medicines he sold to pharmacists.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Four Steps toward Mastery in Writing
RECOGNITION: I can recognize the occurrences of certain literary “moves.”
For example, when Hamlet calls his uncle Claudius a “bloody, bawdy villain” (Hamlet, II.2), I notice right away that the two adjectives in this phrase begin with the letter ‘b’. This seems like a deliberate move!
DEFINITION: I can use a term that helps me to identify this move -- or, even if I don't remember the name of the term, I can confidently describe the move:
A writer's name for the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words such as 'bloody' and 'bawdy' is alliteration.
ANALYSIS: As I cite my example, I can also say what is achieved.
“Hamlet’s bold alliteration links the bloodiness of Claudius – which is to say, his homicidal sinfulness – to the man’s bawdiness: his promiscuity. Just as the two words share an explosive ‘b’-sound, giving voice to Hamlet’s anger, they also overlap in their meanings: criminal homicide and sexual excess are conjoined in Hamlet’s dual indictment of his devious uncle.”
APPLICATION: I can make this same move in my own writing.
“…dual (indictment!) ... devious..."
For example, when Hamlet calls his uncle Claudius a “bloody, bawdy villain” (Hamlet, II.2), I notice right away that the two adjectives in this phrase begin with the letter ‘b’. This seems like a deliberate move!
DEFINITION: I can use a term that helps me to identify this move -- or, even if I don't remember the name of the term, I can confidently describe the move:
A writer's name for the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words such as 'bloody' and 'bawdy' is alliteration.
ANALYSIS: As I cite my example, I can also say what is achieved.
“Hamlet’s bold alliteration links the bloodiness of Claudius – which is to say, his homicidal sinfulness – to the man’s bawdiness: his promiscuity. Just as the two words share an explosive ‘b’-sound, giving voice to Hamlet’s anger, they also overlap in their meanings: criminal homicide and sexual excess are conjoined in Hamlet’s dual indictment of his devious uncle.”
APPLICATION: I can make this same move in my own writing.
“…dual (indictment!) ... devious..."
The Greek term ‘syndeton’ refers to connection.
When you add ‘poly-‘ to ‘syndeton’ the resulting word means many connections.
Polysyndeton (pah-lee-SIN-di-ton)
“Maggie and Millie and Molly and Mae…” (e.e. cummings)
“And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” (King James version of the Bible. Genesis 7:22-24)
"[The train] came boring out of the east like some ribald satellite of the coming sun howling and bellowing in the distance and the long light of the headlamp running though the tangled mesquite brakes and creating out of the night the endless fenceline down the dead straight right of way and sucking it back again wire and post mile on mile into the darkness after where the boilersmoke disbanded slowly along the faint new horizon and the sound came lagging and he stood still holding his hat in his hands in the passing ground shudder watching it till it was gone." (Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses)
"Tender as my years may be," said Caspian, "I believe I understand the slave trade from within quite as well as your Sufficiency. And I do not see that it brings into the islands meat or bread or beer or wine or timber or cabbages or books or instruments of music or horses or armour or anything else worth having." C. S. Lewis, "The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader'" (Book 3 in The Chronicles of Narnia)
When you add the prefix ‘a-‘ to ‘syndeton’ the resulting word means without any connections.
Asyndeton (uh-SIN-di-ton)
“Veni, vidi, vici.” (Julius Caesar) (“I came, I saw, I conquered.”)
"We must... hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends." (U.S. Declaration of Independence)
"Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That--that's about it." (Bubba in Forrest Gump, 1994)
"Cold; tempest; wild beasts in the forest. It is a hard life. Their houses are built of logs, dark and smoky within. There will be a crude icon of the virgin behind a guttering candle, the leg of a pig hung up to cure, a string of drying mushrooms. A bed, a stool, a table. Harsh, brief, poor lives." (Angela Carter, "The Werewolf." The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, 1979)
When you add ‘poly-‘ to ‘syndeton’ the resulting word means many connections.
Polysyndeton (pah-lee-SIN-di-ton)
“Maggie and Millie and Molly and Mae…” (e.e. cummings)
“And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.” (King James version of the Bible. Genesis 7:22-24)
"[The train] came boring out of the east like some ribald satellite of the coming sun howling and bellowing in the distance and the long light of the headlamp running though the tangled mesquite brakes and creating out of the night the endless fenceline down the dead straight right of way and sucking it back again wire and post mile on mile into the darkness after where the boilersmoke disbanded slowly along the faint new horizon and the sound came lagging and he stood still holding his hat in his hands in the passing ground shudder watching it till it was gone." (Cormac McCarthy, All the Pretty Horses)
"Tender as my years may be," said Caspian, "I believe I understand the slave trade from within quite as well as your Sufficiency. And I do not see that it brings into the islands meat or bread or beer or wine or timber or cabbages or books or instruments of music or horses or armour or anything else worth having." C. S. Lewis, "The Voyage of the 'Dawn Treader'" (Book 3 in The Chronicles of Narnia)
When you add the prefix ‘a-‘ to ‘syndeton’ the resulting word means without any connections.
Asyndeton (uh-SIN-di-ton)
“Veni, vidi, vici.” (Julius Caesar) (“I came, I saw, I conquered.”)
"We must... hold them, as we hold the rest of mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace Friends." (U.S. Declaration of Independence)
"Anyway, like I was saying, shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That--that's about it." (Bubba in Forrest Gump, 1994)
"Cold; tempest; wild beasts in the forest. It is a hard life. Their houses are built of logs, dark and smoky within. There will be a crude icon of the virgin behind a guttering candle, the leg of a pig hung up to cure, a string of drying mushrooms. A bed, a stool, a table. Harsh, brief, poor lives." (Angela Carter, "The Werewolf." The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, 1979)
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