ABSTRACT
Rules and models destroy genius and art. - William Hazlitt
You write with ease, to show your breeding, But easy writing’s vile hard reading.
- R.B. Sheridan 1 A basic style?
Prescriptions are rules of verbal conduct, sometimes sup ported by argument, sometimes dogmatically laid down: e.g. that we should avoid the passive, not use too many adverbs, steer clear of verbs ending in -ize. What is frequently baffling about such pronouncements is their refusal to concede the possibility of turning your style to suit your purpose. We are warned absolutely against this word, encouraged totally on behalf of that construction, until we receive the impression that there is only one style worthy of the name, whether we write a learned treatise or a letter to Uncle Podger. Edicts of ‘never’ and ‘always’ override the caution (and truthfulness) of ‘it all depends’.
