The OF Blog: Adjectives and states of being

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Adjectives and states of being

Tired.
Bemused.
Sore.
Excited.
Drained.
Restless.
Bored.
Sleepy.
Reflective.
Ponderous.


States of mind.  Verbs stripped of action, consigned to denoting modifications of state, being, and mood.  Within this, future lessons in grammar, as the labyrinth grows ever more entangled for those foolhardy enough to attempt to learn this language.  And within these short, snappy descriptors are codes for other states, other moods that defy attempts to describe, define, or confine.

Much has been read in recent days, but little shall be discussed.  Some thoughts are best left within one's own mind, mutable as it may be.  I suspect that even months later, Leopardi's scribblings may be influencing mine. 

Paraphrasing, one critic whose name I forget or mayhap never existed, recasts an original, creating a doubling effect that may reverberate better with those with acute listening skills.  Yet who ever really attempts to understand a work well enough to reinterpret it, to sing it anew, perhaps with a better voice?

Ultimately, we strip ourselves back down to adjectives, words now largely devoid of the active energy that drove us in times past.

2 comments:

Stranger said...

If the constant of life is change, then the weight of all writing should rest on verbs.

Larry Nolen said...

One would think so, yes, but the verbs depend upon the acted upon and those need as many shades as possible to make the action varied. Or perhaps adverbs should be used more frequently.

 
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