Archive - Sentence Appreciation

Ambiguity in short stories from Dorothy Parker

Some examples of ambiguity in Parker's prose, with a brief reflection on how ambiguity informed her writing.

Mar 6 •

January 2025

[From the archives] "Aspiring" cavities, a "long-haired" star, and ice "impersonating" the road: The Role of Animacy in Leni Zumas’s The…

Throughout the novel, jumbled animacy amplifies the protagonist’s central existential distress.

Jan 22 •

September 2024

On Lydia Davis’s “Grammar Questions”

In the phrase “he is dying,” the words he is with the present participle

Sep 5, 2024 •

April 2024

Paul Lynch's Prophet Song: A Perplexing Beginning

The linguistic complexity of Lynch's first chapter signals the demanding nature of the story to come.

Apr 30, 2024 •

December 2023

The Syntax of Alienation in Garielle Lutz’s “I was in Kilter with Him, a Little”

A look at the passive voice and other patterns of agency removal.

Dec 20, 2023 •

September 2023

Animacy in Ifeanyichukwu Eze’s “You Are One of Them”

The story's muddling of animacy further heightens the intensity of the violent final scene.

Sep 5, 2023 •

July 2023

Reading Response: Amy Hempel's Tumble Home

Verbs, rhythm, and movement in a paragraph from Hempel's novella.

Jul 2, 2023 •

May 2023

"Aspiring" cavities, a "long-haired" star, and ice "impersonating" the road: The Role of Animacy in Leni Zumas’s The Listeners

Throughout the novel, jumbled animacy amplifies the protagonist’s central existential distress.

May 1, 2023 •

March 2023

Exploring Animacy: An Example from Macbeth

Shakespeare flouts expectations of animacy in the Second Witch's spell.

Mar 22, 2023 •

February 2023

Verbs, Power, and Macbeth's Three Witches

The subjunctive mood heightens the contrast between the agency of the three witches and Macbeth's diminished power.

Feb 2, 2023 •

January 2023

Old and New Information in Amy Hempel's "Tonight is a Favor to Holly"

Hempel's narrator toys with expectations about what information can be taken as given.

Jan 1, 2023 •

December 2022

Reading Response: Lily King’s Euphoria

Details ground the character in the moment with lots of sounds—branches snapping, monkeys’ greeet greeet greeets, and other onomatopoeias.

Dec 10, 2022 •

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