Language is arbitrary. That is, some pay a lot of attention to is, such as poets, and yet some others do not, like essayists, or people who want their point across but do not really mind how it gets there.

 

People like F. Scott Fitzgerald are a strange mixture of the two. He payed attention to both the language and the idea that was being spread across, especially the connotations and how the words sounded together. For example:

“If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him…” (The Great Gatsby)

In that example, there are a few things at play. Not only did Fitzgerald see how to describe Gatsby himself, but Fitzgerald also combined words together that created an irregular, yet illuminating sentence, giving the reader a window into the character’s own descriptions.

Writers can be poets, and vice-a-versa. In a world so diverse, it’s best to let some lines blur where it only makes sense. In this case, between writing prose and poetry. Writing anything can be as poetic as the most romantic love poem, so let it be.

So next time you read an article, a story, or even listen to a song, try to read– or listen– between the lines instead of taking everything at face value.

 

This has been an LPSA.