Write It Right: A Little Black List of Literary Faults

Bierce, Ambrose

ISBN 10 : 0486473104 ISBN 13 : 9780486473109

Editeur : Dover Publications Inc., 2010

Synopsis

Amusing and thought-provoking, this A-to-Z compendium outlines common oral and written gaffes. Ambrose Bierce, a celebrated literary wit, assembled his informative compilation in 1909 from many years of observations and notes. He advocates precision in language, offering alternatives to grammatical lapses and inaccurate word choices. "Moneyed" for "Wealthy" "The moneyed men of New York." One might as sensibly say, "The cattled men of Texas," or, "The lobstered men of the fish market." "Name" for "Title and Name" "His name was Mr. Smith." Surely no babe was ever christened Mister. "Juncture" means a joining, a junction; its use to signify a time, however critical, is absurd. "At this juncture the woman screamed." In reading that account of it, we scream, too. Times and usages have changed considerably in the past century. Bierce's strict rules remain, however, a timeless source of interest for wordsmiths and lovers of language.

A propos du livre

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Write it Right - A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults - Classic American Literature - By Ambrose Bierce - STUDENT AND TEACHER EDITION - ‘This slim volume of his 300 or so reviled words and expressions contains many we use today with no hesitation at all.’ ‘Ambrose Bierce is best known for The Devil's Dictionary, but the prolific journalist, satirist, and fabulist was also a usage maven. In 1909, he published several hundred of his pet peeves in Write It Right: A Little Blacklist of Literary Faults.’ The author's main purpose in this book is to teach precision in writing; and of good writing (which, essentially, is clear thinking made visible) precision is the point of capital concern. It is attained by choice of the word that accurately and adequately expresses what the writer has in mind, and by exclusion of that which either denotes or connotes something else. As Quintilian puts it, the writer should so write that his reader not only may, but must, understand. Few words have more than one literal and serviceable meaning, however many metaphorical, derivative, related, or even unrelated, meanings lexicographers may think it worth while to gather from all sorts and conditions of men, with which to bloat their absurd and misleading dictionaries. This actual and serviceable meaning—not always determined by derivation, and seldom by popular usage—is the one affirmed, according to his light, by the author of this little manual of solecisms. Narrow etymons of the mere scholar and loose locutions of the ignorant are alike denied a standing.

Présentation de l'éditeur :

Ambrose Gwinnett Bierce was an American editorialist, journalist, short story writer, fabulist, and satirist. He wrote the short story ”An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” and compiled a satirical lexicon, The Devil’s Dictionary. His vehemence as a critic, his motto ”Nothing matters”, and the sardonic view of human nature that informed his work, all earned him the nickname ”Bitter Bierce”. Bierce was considered a master of pure English by his contemporaries, and virtually everything that came from his pen was notable for its judicious wording and economy of style. He wrote in a variety of literary genres. His short stories are held among the best of the 19th century, providing a popular following based on his roots. He wrote realistically of the terrible things he had seen in the war in such stories as ”An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, ”The Boarded Window”, ”Killed at Resaca”, and ”Chickamauga”. In addition to his ghost and war stories, he also published several volumes of poetry. His Fantastic Fables anticipated the ironic style of grotesquerie that became a more common genre in the 20th century.

À propos de cette édition

• Éditeur: Dover Publications Inc.
• Date d'édition: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0486473104
• ISBN 13: 9780486473109
• Reliure: Livre broché
• Nombre de pages: 80