Daniel Williams
Professor Krause
May 27, 2009
Keeping an author’s work in present tense

Whenever I’m writing a paper for college, I tend to overlook whether or not I’m staying in present tense. One of many reasons that I lack in committing to present tense within a paper occurs because as I’m writing, others sources and works are being involved into my writing that have other tenses. Once a past or future tense becomes involved into my writing, those tense than emerge throughout my entire paper. Without my consistency to stay in a present tense, readers have difficulties following the proven sequences that support my thesis. William Strunk and E.B. White, explains further for the importance in why an author should focus in on staying in present tense.

Strunk and White build up emphasis by the importance for why an author should stay in a present tense in their book The Elements of Style. “ In summarizing a poem, story, or novel use present tense, you may use past if it seems more natural… but if a writing is inconsistence while shifting from one tense to another it gives the appearance of uncertainty and irresolution” (31). Strunk and White further apply their theory by using the example from Romeo and Juliet.

Example: “Chance prevents Friar John from delivering Friar Lawrence’s letter to Romeo. Meanwhile, owing to her father’s arbitrary change of the day set for her wedding, Juliet has been compelled to drink the potion on Tuesday night, with the result that Balthasar informs Romeo of her supposed death before Friar Lawrence learns of the non delivery of the letter” (31).

By applying the rule to stay in present tense to the example above, it prohibits any confusion to occur from a reader’s point of view. A reader must be able to follow the sequences above in a present tense matter in order to understand the sequences of events. If any tense change occurs within the Romeo and Juliet sequence above, it then could offset the reader mind to believe the possibly that the event has or hasn’t already occurred.

In order to guide a reader towards a series of events an author must be able to rely on the conscientiously use one tense. Though some stories can be tricky on whether or not the narrator is reliable in the mind of reader, but that is only debating for value of truth and not events. In a paper I wrote last semester about a book called Madame Bovary, my narrative did not meet up to the expectations of Strunk and White emphasis on staying in present tense.

Example: Emma distracts Charles by her beauty which enables him to ask Roualt for advising his daughter’s hand in marriage. Eventually Emma became content with the idea of marrying Charles Bovary, in order to satisfy her desire for a new adventurous journey in comparison to her currently lifestyle (Williams).

In this last example I obviously did not apply the present tense manner in order to narrate the sequences of events much like the Romeo and Juliet example. By not being able to stay in present tense gives the reader uncertainty much like Strunk and White said previously about the writer providing a reader with uncertainties whenever shifting tenses. Once again by shifting tenses it leads the reader to question the writer’s accuracy on whether or not they are fully aware of the actual occurrences in the story. To further a reader’s better understanding on the importance of present tense is to use Williams Style Toward Clarity Grace.

In Joseph Williams Style Toward Clarity and Grace, readers are provided a different perspective on obtaining elegance in writing rather than William Strunk and E.B. Whites The Elements of Style which tends to focus primary on content rather than the structure of writing. I was able to apply Williams’ theory on clarity and elegance to further discuss the rule on maintaining present tense within short stories, poems, and books.

By elaborating the idea of Williams’s theory on clarity, writers can limit the amount of turgid. Much like the idea of sustaining present tense in order to construct clear writing short stories, poems, and books, Williams applies two principles.

Two Principles
(1) the subjects of the sentences names the cast of characters and

(2) the verbs that go with those subjects name the crucial actions those characters are part of.

Williams’s principles emphasis by how a writer should obtain clarity in their writing. Similar to the emphasis of staying in present tense that William Strunk and E.B. White explains in The Elements of Style, is shared in Williams’s two principles to obtain clarity in Style Toward Clarity and Grace.

The first principle that Williams speaks the importance to achieving clarity in writing is by introducing a noun at the beginning of the sentence with “names or cast of characters” (21). The second principle that Williams’s emphasis “action,” that is developed by a verb following a noun. Williams’s intent to express verbs as crucial “action” that follow nouns emphasis the idea of obtaining clarity in ones writing. Other than clarity that Williams’s guides a reader to direct importance to achieve elegance in writing.
Williams guide’s writers to achieve elegance in their writing is to prevent any turgid……