I'm all about the WORDPLAY...
I love the English language. And there are so many beautiful, expressive words that seem to go amiss within our everyday conversations... Which is such a shame. I recently found myself entranced in the literary brilliance of Mr. Washington Irving while reading "Sleepy Hollow" last week (in honor of Halloween of course). While I'm sure some would call his writing unnecessarily wordy, I fell in love with his detailed descriptions that read like dreamlike paintings. For example: Instead of saying "It was a beautiful fall day in Sleepy Hollow" - Irving writes:
"It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal day, the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet."
This makes me want to devote more time to read the classics by Dickens, Austin, Fitzgerald, Hemingway, Twain, and so many more...They are all so skilled in creating a world using their own style of wordplay.
Related note: I recently went to an audition where I had to bring in a Shakespeare monologue. To be honest, I haven't had the opportunity to bust out Shakespeare in far too long and was a bit nervous that I wouldn't be able to let go in the room and interpret the language in a fresh way. Working on that monologue though, turned out to be a rewarding and thought provoking experience. I haven't felt so impassioned about my work in quite sometime. Being able to express and tell a story using such rich, juicy language is an incredibly powerful feeling to me. And auditoning/acting aside - It brought up a major point: I am so guilty of not expanding my own vocabulary in daily life...soooo - It's challenge time! I challenge myself to use at least one new word a day in conversation. Here is a list of some of my favorite words I plan to use and hope you will too! Lets add a little flavor into our dialogues people :) It's so refreshing/intriguing to hear someone throw out a unique word now and then. Wouldn't you agree?
Becoming - attractive. Beleaguer - to exhaust with attacks. Bucolic - in a lovely rural setting. Conflate - to blend together. Dalliance - a brief love affair Dashing - attractive in a romantic, adventurous way/stylish
Demure - shy and reserved. Denouement - the resolution of a mystery. Dulcet - sweet, sugary. Ebullience - bubbling with enthusiasm. Effervescent - bubbly, vivacious. Efflorescence - flowering, blooming. Eloquence - beauty and persuasion in speech. Ephemeral - short-lived. Erstwhile - at one time, for a time. Evanescent - vanishing quickly, lasting a very short time. Evocative - suggestive. Felicity - pleasantness. Fetching - attractive
Fugacious - fleeting. Gambol - to skip or leap about joyfully. Imbroglio - an altercation or complicated situation. Imbue - to infuse, instill. Ineffable - unutterable, inexpressible. Insouciance - blithe nonchalance. Languor - listless, inactivity. Lissome - slender and graceful. Mellifluous - sweet sounding. Opulent - lush, luxuriant. Panacea - a solution for all problems. Redolent - fragrant. Scintilla - a spark or very small thing. Serendipity - finding something nice while looking for something else. Sumptuous - lush, luxurious. Talisman - a good luck charm. Untoward - unseemly, inappropriate. Woebegone - sorrowful, downcast.
What are some of YOUR favorite words?
