Attraction Quote by George Orwell
“Modern writing at its worst does not consist in picking out words for the sake of their meaning and inventing images in order to make the meaning clearer. It consists in gumming together long strips of words which have already been set in order by someone else, and making the results presentable by sheer humbug. The attraction of this way of writing is that it is easy.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: Politics and the English Language, 1946
The quote criticizes shallow writing that merely rearranges existing phrases without genuine insight, valuing ease over clarity.
In simple terms: Bad writing copies old words without adding meaning.
Key Takeaway
Seek originality and clarity in expression.
Themes
writing
clarity
originality
critique
language
Mood
critical
reflective
analytical
Type
advice
literary criticism
When to use this quote
- academic essays
- journalistic pieces
- creative writing
- marketing copy
Key Concepts
literary criticism
syntactic laziness
authentic voice
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you ensure your writing adds new meaning?
- When is borrowing language effective?
A Different Perspective
It may overlook the value of tradition and intertextuality.
![“[You write out of the] desire to seem clever, to be talked about, to be remembered after death, etc., etc., etc. It is humbug to pretend this is not a motive and a strong one.” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ec0/george-orwell-57_after-death_you-write-out-of-the-desire-to-seem-clev_278654.jpg)
