With the advent of the printing press leading to increased literacy, we finally we have a text that acknowledges diversity among readers with Mary Astell’s A Serious Proposal to the Ladies. Astell notes, “Every Author almost has some beauty or blemish remarkable in his Style from whence it takes its name; and every Reader has a peculiar tast of Books as well as Meats”(854). (I love this comparison - is it wrong that I considered Hannibal Lecters peculiar taste in books and meats when I read this line?)
With my primary focus being in creative writing, this text was very exciting to me. Honestly, all semester long I’ve struggled to correlate the importance of the study of rhetoric to to my own interests in writing. Previous texts have concentrated on the parts and mechanics of rhetoric (and more pointedly to oration) but have paid little attention to the employment of style in writing. And certainly not to writing for a broad audience. In these texts any mention of style was truly about reaffirming the necessity for the rhetor to ensure the clarity of their argument. Now we have Astell acknowledging that different styles will please or displease different readers. She is not throwing out the need for clear and concise writing but she is noting that writers may achieve that in different ways, and that those techniques may not be pleasing to all readers.
Astell is allowing for both the writer and the reader to have stylistic preferences. While she warns of the need to balance ones writing, to not be too sublime or too bombastic, she implores writers to remember that “Good Sense is the principal thing with out which all our polishing is of little Worth, and yet if Ornament be wholly neglected very few will regard us” (854).
Astell goes on to address the ease with which writers critique other writers but refuse to “lay aside Self-Love” (854), thereby refusing to recognize flaws in their own texts. I love that she doesn’t criticize pride per se but she does elucidate that others will see in your writing what you may not see yourself. All good reminders to someone interested in writing. I know that my own enjoyment of the text is irrelevant in the grand scheme of this course, but I was pleased to have finally found a text that truly resonated with me.
Mandy,
ReplyDeleteLike you I have struggled to find a connection between rhetoric and the writing I have done throughout my college career, so I understand where you are coming from in your blog and am glad someone else can relate to the frustration I have been feeling this semester. The quote that you mentioned in your blog I clearly remember reading (thus is must of had some sort of importance to me), so I am glad to see you expanding on it. As a reader and a writer I am able to relate to what you wrote about in regards to the text and how you view it being used in today's writing/reading. Every person is going to read and understand a text differently than the person next to them or even the author, but to me that is what creates the "beauty or blemish remarkable in his Style." I am happy to see that you expanded further on this quote because it makes it much more relevant to my writing than most of the reading we have done thus far, so I appreciate your input. Nice post!
Jennie