Uneasy Rhetoric

Language Log has an interesting post on the adjective, an oft-maligned part of speech.

In Those who take the adjectives from the table, Pullum questions why so many writing “experts” think that the adjective is a bad thing. His post narrows in on the expert of writing experts, Strunk and White. What writerly person hasn’t at one time or another defended their grammatical or stylistic honor with a visit to “The Elements of Style”? I frequently use it to fight against those who would elevate the passive voice.

Pullum rants on “The Elements of Style” because of its wholesale rejection of the adjective. Pullum suggests we “take [our] copy of that vile little work with its absurd advice (’Use the active voice’; ‘Omit needless words’; ‘Be clear’ — all of them, notice, phrased with adjectives) and drop it in the wastebin.”

That’s a bit harsh. “The Elements of Style” provides a two-by-four-over-the-head kind of look at stylistics. Some people need this kind of rigor to improve their writing. Some of the most painful and effective writing exercises I have endured involved taking advice like “don’t write with adjectives” to extremes.

Nevertheless, Pullum has a point. We’re always looking for a shortcut to do anything and writing is no exception. Strunk and White’s admonition probably came about in this way:

Student: “I don’t get it.”

Teacher: “This word is not necessary. You’ve already made it abundantly clear that your protagonist is ‘good.’ You don’t need to describe it. Also, here, and here.”

Student: “But I don’t get it.”

Teacher (exasperated): “Oh, just take out all of your adjectives.”