Thursday, July 7, 2016

Historical: Drawbacks

It can be great fun to visit the past. However, very few of us would truly want to live there. But sometime historical fiction draws such a beautiful picture we start to romanticize the past. We begin to believe that the past was somehow less complicated or more innocent than now. The result is discontent with the present.

Also, while it is good to appreciate the beauty of the prose, the attempt to copy that style can cause loss of clarity in our day-to-day communications. Indeed, the temptation will be strong to use what you learn, both historically and linguistically, to show off and make yourself look smart.

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