Copy Work 2 - Mark Twain
I have been continuing to incorporate a handwriting copywork exercise in my day to day. This process aims to improve my reading, writing, and memory. It has so far been an enjoyable, meditative exercise. The slowing down enforces an intimate understanding of style and meaning of the author's text.
Here, I examine the start of Mark Twain's novel:
Innocents Abroad, Or, the New Pilgrim's Progress
Chapter I.
For months the great pleasure excursion to Europe and the Holy Land was chatted about in the newspapers everywhere in America and discussed at countless firesides. It was a novelty in the way of excursions--it had not been thought of before and it compelled that interest which attractive novelties always command. It was to be a picnic on a gigantic scale. The participants in it, instead of freighting an ungainly steam ferry—boat with youth and beauty and pies and doughnuts, and paddling up some obscure creek to disembark upon a grassy lawn and wear themselves out with a long summer day's frolicking under the impression that it was fun, were to sail away in a great steamship with flags flying and cannon pealing, and take a royal holiday beyond the broad ocean in many a stray clime, and in many a land renowned in history!
Copywork practice
This text was particularly challenging with the long stream of descriptive phrases. I resorted to memorizing and copying chunks of phrases at a time.
In my handwritten copying exercise, I often miss prepositions or misplace adjectives. Minor errors, but worth noting to improve my precision with language.
Commentary on style and text
I have not read much of Twain's prolific work. So this exercise provides for me a cursory sense of his style. It is too early to make strong opinions.
Here, Twain inserts long descriptive phrases, expressing thoughts on unimpressive ferry-boat frolics. But uses this stylistic "excursion" to contrast a setup for an impressive "great steamship" adventure. It took a bit of mental effort to parse these descriptions, but it was a rewarding exercise. These types of stylistic humor are right up my alley, but maybe not to this extent. I look forward to continuing on this journey.