Just the other day I came across C.S. Lewis's advice on writing (written in a letter to one of his fans, and not for formal publication as far as I know), and item #3 on that list was, "Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again."
By that rule, "to boldly go" is much, much, much better than "to go boldly", for all the reasons you cite. Even if it violates some rule of grammar somewhere, I would say there's a *poetry* to it that justifies the grammar violation. As long as you "get" what is being said, that's what counts.
(This is something I wrestle with constantly in my own writing, where I often feel obliged to follow certain abstract rules in my head -- not necessarily grammatical rules, just things that make logical sense to me -- and I have to force myself to consider what *sounds* good and still makes the point that I'm trying to communicate. Sometimes the abstractions *get in the way*, y'know?)
Complete agreement, Peter. It’s important, I think, to know the “rules,” but also to know which rules are, in a phrase usefully popularized by Pirates of the Caribbean, “more like guidelines,” as well as which rules never should have been rules at all. I find that a mild reluctance to splitting infinitives often results in more euphonious text (I too saw that advice from Lewis crop up here and there recently)—often, but by no means always!
That’s very well put. Language that conveys ideas well is probably doing something right. If there is some irregularity that catches some people up, it’s worth considering; sometimes the irregularity is something that may be a real problem, but other times it’s just not a problem at all.
So very well said, Steven. Full of truth and entertaining as well! (A sentence without a subject! Does that even qualify as a sentence?) And I, the #1 daughter of your influential grandmother, break the rules only with difficulty.
Just the other day I came across C.S. Lewis's advice on writing (written in a letter to one of his fans, and not for formal publication as far as I know), and item #3 on that list was, "Always write (and read) with the ear, not the eye. You should hear every sentence you write as if it was being read aloud or spoken. If it does not sound nice, try again."
By that rule, "to boldly go" is much, much, much better than "to go boldly", for all the reasons you cite. Even if it violates some rule of grammar somewhere, I would say there's a *poetry* to it that justifies the grammar violation. As long as you "get" what is being said, that's what counts.
(This is something I wrestle with constantly in my own writing, where I often feel obliged to follow certain abstract rules in my head -- not necessarily grammatical rules, just things that make logical sense to me -- and I have to force myself to consider what *sounds* good and still makes the point that I'm trying to communicate. Sometimes the abstractions *get in the way*, y'know?)
Complete agreement, Peter. It’s important, I think, to know the “rules,” but also to know which rules are, in a phrase usefully popularized by Pirates of the Caribbean, “more like guidelines,” as well as which rules never should have been rules at all. I find that a mild reluctance to splitting infinitives often results in more euphonious text (I too saw that advice from Lewis crop up here and there recently)—often, but by no means always!
That’s very well put. Language that conveys ideas well is probably doing something right. If there is some irregularity that catches some people up, it’s worth considering; sometimes the irregularity is something that may be a real problem, but other times it’s just not a problem at all.
So very well said, Steven. Full of truth and entertaining as well! (A sentence without a subject! Does that even qualify as a sentence?) And I, the #1 daughter of your influential grandmother, break the rules only with difficulty.