style

The way in which something is spoken, written, or performed. Narrowly interpreted as those figures that ornament discourse; broadly, as representing a manifestation of the person speaking or writing. All figures of speech fall within the domain of style. See also:

• What Is Style?
• Elocution
• Eloquence
• Swift on Style
• "On Familiar Style," by Hazlitt

Etymology:

From the Latin, "pointed instrument used for writing"

Definitions and Observations:

• "Style is character. It is the quality of a man's emotion made apparent; then by inevitable extension, style is ethics, style is government."
  (Spinoza)



• "If any man wish to write in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; and if any would write in a noble style, let him first possess a noble soul."
  (Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)



• "Style is the dress of thoughts."
  (Lord Chesterfield)



• "The style of an author should be the image of his mind, but the choice and command of language is the fruit of exercise."
  (Edward Gibbon)



• "Style is not mere decoration, nor is it an end to itself; it is rather a way of finding and explaining what is true. Its purpose is not to impress but to express."
  (Richard Graves, "A Primer for Teaching Style." College Composition and Communication, 1974)



• "A good style should show no sign of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident."
  (W. Somerset Maugham, The Summing Up, 1938)



• "Style is that which indicates how the writer takes himself and what he is saying. It is the mind skating circles around itself as it moves forward."
  (Robert Frost)



• "Style is the perfection of a point of view."
  (Richard Eberhart)



• "To do a dull thing with style--now THAT'S what I call art."
  (Charles Bukowski)



• "Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say and not giving a damn."
  (Gore Vidal)