My little blog.

Paper2 FinalDraft

What is Voice?

     Voice is a complicated issue when it comes to writing; whether it is an argument, essay or novel, voice is what helps to convey the meaning to the reader. Voice presents the tone and mind set of a certain written piece, depending on how strong it is throughout it. For me, I was always reminded that voice was the style of your writing. You always needed to show how well you could address an argument with your personality to show readers how you really and individually felt about what side you were considering. Granted writers have fun putting voice into their pieces since it would make them feel like they were addressing the topic of the paper using real emotional appeal, as if they were speaking directly to their readers. What matters was that they have put something inside their paper that made the readers realize who they were, and what they were all about and how they addressed the argument, no matter what side the writer happened to be on. Of course, that was what was taught to me in my previous English courses, and what I had lived by to this day.

     Personally, I believe that if voice is the style of your writing, then you can write about any topic and still have the piece teeming with persona and eccentricity. To write a piece with voice, only within the context of substance, then you are left with very little room to actually spread your beliefs within the writing. It is possible for someone to write a somewhat dulled piece without any style what so ever which would be considering the context of content. Research papers and other documents as such come out sounding dry and without voice, most of the time, because you are left with little room to prove you even own a personality. At least, in most of my earlier English courses I was constantly hit on the wrist if voice was even whispered in such written assignments. I was never able to write the words “I think”, or “I believe”, which stopped voice from entering my essays at all. However, with your own style, you can form written pieces into something of your own, which is much better, and more fun to write. You are able to keep the content stable while maintaining a very appropriate voice which enlightened the piece you wrote.

     Corbett explains two methods on the practice of imitation. You can interpret writing many different ways, but to imitate writing means something else. Imitating an author’s substance would be keeping the author’s style but changing the content completely, or you may make it your own by writing in your own personal style. Within this paper, I will imitate an excerpt from “On Truth” written by Harry G. Frankfurt, because I feel that it is necessary to show how manageable voice is within the context of style. In this excerpt, Frankfurt is discouraging Spinoza’s definition of love and he shows how he particularly devours and interprets his definition. I felt that this would be a great excerpt to work off of with the imitation exercise because it holds a lot of voice; therefore, I will imitate the excerpt using my own style to expose it using my own voice.

     “Now if someone experiences happiness and realizes that the happiness has a specific outsider influence, like-if that someone notices another someone or something as an item to which he feels to owe his happiness and on which his happiness depends-Spinoza feels that this certain someone loves that item. Here is what Spinoza thinks love is: the manner we react to what we realize as causing us happiness. Then Spinoza feels that people cannot stop enjoying or loving what they realize as the item that makes them feel happiness. They love what they think encourages them to be more of themselves. I think now that Spinoza could be on the right path. You see many instances of love plan out the way he has defined it, which is how people begin to love the things that help them to be more themselves, and things that help that person look at life more respectively.”

     “Spinoza adds more to his definition which seems to also be on that right path. He figures that “One who loves necessarily strives to have present and preserve the things he loves” (Ethics, part III, proposition II, scholium). The items that someone loves are incredibly desirable to them. That person’s life depends on the significant other. So, that person makes sure to take care of them so they will always be there for them at their disposal.”

      I feel that the imitation exercise is a great tool to consider when writing. I’ve realized that voice cannot become one or the other, substance or style, but it can be both; mixed parts of each to create your own unique default. If you are able to find yourself in your own writing, then you have found your voice within it.

     After doing this imitation I found it, still, to be easier to write within the context of style. However, I also found myself trying to keep away from Frankfurt’s specific style and his way of writing within his own piece. For some reason even if I had changed the words and mechanics to fit my own style of writing, I was constantly trying to wash off any part of writing that relished within his personal style. It was like I was at a constant battle with Frankfurt while imitating this excerpt.  Therefore, I believe that using both, content and style should be considered when writing within the context of voice. If you use both content and style, then you are given a piece that is formed only on voice. Therefore, you have created a piece that will work within the context of voice, a strong and more definite piece.

     I have come to this conclusion because I find it more difficult now to just base an imitation exercise on just style. Substance is needed if you plan on making your writing clear with voice; however style is what your writing will also need for it to express your emotional appeal on that specific topic. At first I never realized how difficult it could be, making something your own without really covering the complete meaning of the passage you are trying to convey while using the imitation exercise. With the use of both, style and substance, you are able to create something that is of your own which will shed an incredible amount of voice onto your piece of written work, creating something that is from your own persona and views.