TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to Ask the Editor. I’m Emily Brewster, associate editor at Merriam Webster.
A thrill spread throughout the literally packed court.James Joyce writes in Ulysses. No, the thrill described in that quote is not a feeling of being equipped with a special electrical charge. Joyce is using this word literally to mean effect or almost. Many people object to the widespread use of this literal, but Joyce is not alone in using it. Charlotte Bronte and Louisa May Alcott used it. So did Mark Twain and Willa Cather. There are also Vladimir Nabokov and David Foster Wallace. One could say that literature is, in its own right, (always clearing). Charles Dickens was a pioneer in its use. In Nicholas Nickleby, he writes that a character literally, he looked at others in silence, but the development of this use began much earlier. John Dryden complained that literally everyday bread. Alexander Pope commented every day to me is really another yesterday because it’s exactly the same. In these cases, the adverb further emphasizes the word or phrase that follows it, that word or phrase is literally intended. Dickens merely put together an intensifier in front of a figurative phrase that could not be taken literally. The result, pure exaggeration, is a legitimate literary instrument. Does this mean you should use literals this way? Maybe, but remember that hype requires careful handling and your audience may not realize what it is. You can tell someone that you literally devoured novels and that your kids really love jumping off walls, but be prepared for your listeners to refuse to lend you books and be curious about your success. part of your children. For more information from our Ask the Editor series, visit merriam-webster.com.
Categories: Usage Notes
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
