[etni] Present / Past Simple in discussing literature
- From: Harry Adler <harryadler@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Fri, 1 May 2009 08:52:51 +0300
Geoffrey N. Leech, Meaning and the English Verb, Longman, 2nd Edn. 1987
deals with the issue of using "Present Tense to cover information which in
strict historical terms belongs to the past. . . ."
Leech notes usage like "Dostoevsky draws his characters from sources deep in
the Russian soil. . ." and explains:
When discussing an artist and his [sic] surviving work, one feels justified
in using the Present, because the work, and through it (in a sense) the
artist, are still 'alive'. . . .[T]here is almost free variation of Past and
Present Tenses.
Leech's discussion is found in Section 17 of his book, pages 11-12; see also
Section 25, pages 16-17.
Harry
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