Sri Aurobindo
Letters on Poetry and Art
SABCL - Volume 27
Part 2. On His Own and Others’ Poetry
Section 3. Practical Guidance for Aspiring Writers
Guidance in Writing Prose
Suggestions for Writing Good English [3]
This book, returned herewith, is not in my opinion
suitable for the purpose. The author wanted to make it look like a translation
of a romance in Sanskrit and he has therefore made the spirit and even partly
the form of the language more Indian than English. It is not therefore useful
for getting into the spirit of the English language. Indians have naturally in
writing English a tendency to be too coloured, sometimes flowery, sometimes
rhetorical and a book like this would increase the tendency. One ought to have
in writing English a style which is at its base capable of going to the point,
saying with a simple and energetic straightforwardness what
one means to say, so that one can add grace of language without disturbing this
basis. Arnold is a very good model for this purpose. Emerson less, but his book
will also do.
It is surely better to write your own thoughts. The exercise of writing in your own words what another has said or written is a good exercise or test for accuracy, clear understanding of ideas, an observant intelligence; but your object is, I suppose, to be able to understand English and express yourself in good English.
16 May 1932