"There must be no gap between expression and meaning, between real and declared aims... It means not saying or thinking, 'I didn't mean to hurt your feelings,' when there really existed a desire to hurt. It means not saying 'luncheon' or "home" for the purpose of appearing upper-class or well-educated. It means not using the passive mood to contribute to no one in particular opinions that one is unwilling to call one's own."
- Donald Hall
I don't mean to be critical (yes, yes, I get it!)
ReplyDeletebut I'd bet a buck or two that Donald Hall really
said "attribute," not "contribute," in that quote.
Or else he doesn't have anyone close by to proof-
read for him since his wife, the excellent poet
Jane Kenyon, died. His comment is right on target, though, for sure. Active is better than
passive all the time, for so many solid reasons.
Thanks for your good word, neighbor Caroline!
And of course it serves me right! Didn't proofread my criticism! You give good word AND
ReplyDeletedo good WORK!
Great observation! So great, in fact, that it led me to do a little research. My source for this quote isn't first hand. Hall is quoted in Ken Macrorie's Telling Writing, which in turn is excerpted in The Norton Book of Composition Studies. So I suppose the mistake could have happened through that line, a bit like a game of telephone (although I of course verified that my transcription is correct). So I went on a hunt for the original, but had no luck finding it. Through another article in which Hall is partially quoted (of course not in length - that would have been helpful), I discovered that the original source is an essay written by Hall for the New York Times Book Review titled "A Clear and Simple Style" on May 7, 1967. Of course, the Book Review online is only back-issued through 1997. So, it may have to remain an unsolved mystery for the time being...
ReplyDeleteThis conversation reminded me of another essay, however: Joseph M. Williams' The Phenomenology of Error published in 1981. Williams discusses whether we actually notice errors as much as instructors in grammar would like us to believe. I think even more interestingly, Williams questions whether when we do notice errors, we find them offensive. He also discusses the circumstances in which correct usage can be more disruptive than an error. An example of this might be the avoidance of a split infinitive. While correct, the sentence might seems strange to some readers. Williams makes his point quite clear with several errors of his own within the article (I could do a whole blog post on this)... it is really quite fascinating!