The Philosophy of Style
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Causes of Force in Language which Depend Upon Economy of the Mental Energies Sec. 1
35:49 -
Causes of Force in Language which Depend Upon Economy of the Mental Energies Sec. 2
34:04 -
Causes of Force in Language which Depend Upon Economy of the Mental Sensibilities
17:02
The Philosophy of Style (1862) is a public domain work.
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About this book
A sentence can spend the reader's attention before its meaning becomes clear. Herbert Spencer builds this essay around the effort involved in reading, arguing that effective language leaves more mental energy available for the thought it carries. His opening discussion connects familiar advice about brevity and word order to this principle. Everyday vocabulary, childhood associations and the length of words become material for an explanation of literary force.
Spencer then applies his argument to figures of speech, comparing direct explanations with images that let the mind grasp a relationship quickly. The middle passage considers where to place a simile and how an extended comparison can tax the reader's memory. The contents also point to poetry, variety and the rise and fall of emotional intensity. For writers and attentive readers, the essay offers a specific theory to test against their own experience of clear and demanding prose.
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Book facts
- Author
- Herbert Spencer
- Reading time
- About 55 minutes
- Pages
- 36
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Literature
- Formats
- PDF, EPUB, Read online, Audiobook
- Audio read by
- Gary Gilberd