Book Review – The Elements of Style
Strunk & White's Classic Guide to Literary Precision and Success
Rules are the parents of art. When an artist creates something, and creates it effectively, she is almost assuredly doing it because of or in spite of a rule. People are the same way when it comes to their parents, and regardless of liking mom and dad, they’re the ones everything goes back to. With a tome like Strunk & White’s The Elements of Style (Pearson Education Company, ISBN: 020530902X, 1979, originally 1959) looming over the writing world, it doesn’t make any sense not to read it.
The Rules Exist in a Very Abstract and Touchy Way
Even if a person is unable to explain why she used the passive voice instead of the active voice, there is a rule out there says “use the active voice.” It’s not just in Strunk & White. It’s everywhere. The rules exist in a very abstract and touchy way, regardless of whether or not a writer is aware of them.
To read this book sets a person up with the opportunity to advance in writing beyond what they can learn by simply reading and writing. Eventually, a person could figure out how to construct effective sentences, maybe even beautiful ones. Perhaps she could even figure out how to do all of that with efficiency and precision.
Of course, with that method, it’ll take awhile. Use them or not, the rules exist, and working inside of them makes a lot of sense most of the time.
Why Use the Passive Voice Instead of the Active Voice?
Arguments over subjects such as active-vs-passive voice and incorrect grammar usually bring up the issue of “right and wrong,” which in creative writing is essentially the same as it is in music: if it sounds right, it is right. What good are scales if the coolest stuff isn’t in any particular scale? Some great melodies, riffs, and licks have completely ignored music theory.
Likewise, the cut-ups of Burroughs, the broken thought-patterns of Joyce, and the repetitive sentence structure of Hemingway all break a couple rules every once in awhile. Whether or not it’s a conscious defiance is unimportant (because-of/spite-of) and the real focus should be on “How does doing this ‘incorrectly’ improve the overall effect of the passage?”
A Necessary Book for the Challenging of Stylistic Ideas
The best part of this book, even beyond laying the foundation for – at the very least – cognitive writing, is the way it challenges the reader to develop their style through constant questioning. Even when disagreeing with a rule, saying numerous times, “Well, certainly that’s true, but what if . . .” almost every page, that doesn’t make a rules any less a rule. Style is inherent. Grammar is not. With this book, both can be done.
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The Elements of Styles, Strunk & White
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