Description A lexicon is the collected vocabulary of a person. Over the course of 26 weeks, students will explore a cluster of words from the lexicon of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkein. Using these words in an original way, with inspiration from favorites such as The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings, will help the budding wordsmith recognize the plasticity of language and delight in its beauty. In Their Own Words Lewis: Don’t use words too big for the subject. Don’t say ‘infinitely’ when you mean ‘very’; otherwise you’ll have no word left when you want to talk about something really infinite. In writing. Don’t use adjectives which merely tell us how you want us to feel about the thing you are describing. I mean, instead of telling us a thing was ‘terrible,’ describe it so that we’ll be terrified. Don’t say it was ‘delightful’: make us say ‘delightful’ when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers ‘Please will you do my job for me’. Tolkien: Usually I compose only with great difficulty and endless rewriting. A story must be told or there’ll be no story, yet it is the untold stories that are most moving. Blessed are the legend-makers with their rhyme of things not found within recorded time. Included in 8th Grade Collection Click here to see sample pages
