3 ms·

Usage of "very" in the collected works of Shakespeare's: https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/search/search-results.php https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/s

Usage of "very" in the collected works of Shakespeare's: https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/search/search-results.php https://www.opensourceshakespeare.org/search/search-results.... (some of these are false positives, e.g. "this very sword", where it's not used as an intensifier) I don't understand this quest that certain pencil-pushers seem to have with wanting to restrict the usage of certain words or even entire grammatical constructions (e.g. the crusade against the passive voice). Good writing means thinking about your words, your sentence structure, etc., yes - but not arbitrarily throwing out half of the language because of some weird dogmas.

OJFord 4y ago
I recall getting into trouble at school for (probably argumentatively & disruptively) pointing out occurrences of 'said' in published works, which is the word I remember being taught not to use more so than 'very'. They wanted every bit of dialogue to be broadcast or yelled or shouted or explained or cried and so on. If you actually read something like that it's bloody tedious, unless you're going for Homeric I think the better advice is to simply say 'said' more often!
- Tainnor 4y ago
  Yeah, I was also taught the silly rule in school that you shouldn't say "said" all the time. I don't know where it comes from, but texts that use this rule extensively just read like what a schoolkid would write, not an actual author. The point of careful and nuanced words is that you should use them where it matters. In many cases, especially in prose, it doesn't and "said" is more than enough. (oh and also, despite its flowery language at times, Homeric language is full of repetitive turns of phrases too)
  - OJFord 4y ago
    > despite its flowery language at times, Homeric language is full of repetitive turns of phrases too Absolutely, as I understand it that's believed to be a direct result of it being passed down orally, a technique for memorisation. I just meant that the dialogue is generally colourfully exclaimed, never merely 'said'; though plenty of those individual words even (for describing how it's.. said) are repeated endlessly. Though, I've only read one English translation, so I did hesitate to draw the comparison. I assume no respectable translator would start 'flowering up' a text like that if it did hypothetically say the equivalent of 'said' all the time though.

OJFord 4y ago

I recall getting into trouble at school for (probably argumentatively & disruptively) pointing out occurrences of 'said' in published works, which is the word I remember being taught not to use more so than 'very'. They wanted every bit of dialogue to be broadcast or yelled or shouted or explained or cried and so on. If you actually read something like that it's bloody tedious, unless you're going for Homeric I think the better advice is to simply say 'said' more often!

Tainnor 4y ago
Yeah, I was also taught the silly rule in school that you shouldn't say "said" all the time. I don't know where it comes from, but texts that use this rule extensively just read like what a schoolkid would write, not an actual author. The point of careful and nuanced words is that you should use them where it matters. In many cases, especially in prose, it doesn't and "said" is more than enough. (oh and also, despite its flowery language at times, Homeric language is full of repetitive turns of phrases too)
- OJFord 4y ago
  > despite its flowery language at times, Homeric language is full of repetitive turns of phrases too Absolutely, as I understand it that's believed to be a direct result of it being passed down orally, a technique for memorisation. I just meant that the dialogue is generally colourfully exclaimed, never merely 'said'; though plenty of those individual words even (for describing how it's.. said) are repeated endlessly. Though, I've only read one English translation, so I did hesitate to draw the comparison. I assume no respectable translator would start 'flowering up' a text like that if it did hypothetically say the equivalent of 'said' all the time though.