16 June 2012

It's Wordcraft, Wicked Wordcraft

Lovers of the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins appreciate his facility with the English language.  At first I considered him a verbal scofflaw.  To my knowledge, there is no law against coining words or using them outside of the denotative box; so have at it--as long as meaning is detectable without excessive straining.  Erin McKean has this to say about the use of "undictionaried words."*

*(Whilst composing this electronic entry, both the author's name and the "un-" word appear with the dreaded red line underneath.  Shall we be so impudent as to brand them misspellings?)

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