No, actually the bad rap is due to the fact that the passive voice sounds, well, more passive. "The sailor hit the solider" inherently sounds more dynamic and

No, actually the bad rap is due to the fact that the passive voice sounds, well, more passive. "The sailor hit the solider" inherently sounds more dynamic and active than "The soldier was hit by the sailor." Taking the GP's example: "The soldier woke up. He had breakfast. He was hit by a sailor." sounds only marginally worse than the active version, but that's in great part because that's a lousy paragraph to begin with. If you actually write it with some sort of flair for interesting rhythm and verbs, it might become: "The soldier awoke in the early morning and had a hearty breakfast at the inn, devouring some eggs and bacon that would give him strength for the hard day ahead. Then, as he stepped out of the inn, the sailor bashed him on the side of the head with an oar." This is no great artistic creation, but it is at least a passably decent paragraph. Now turn the verbs into passive mode and see how it falls apart and becomes bland and, well, passive: "The soldier awoke in the early morning and had a hearty breakfast at the inn. Eggs and bacon were devoured that would give him strength for the hard day ahead. Then, as he stepped out of the inn, he was bashed on the side of the head by the sailor, with an oar." The second version is distinctly worse, and that's all because of the passive voice. Note: Before you respond to explain how the passive voice is appropriate in many situations, yes, I do acknowledge that. The passive voice is great when you know how to use it. Hell, it's as essential to pacing the english language as short-selling is essential to maintaining healthy markets. In most cases, though people use too much passive voice and too little active voice.