Historical Context
The New Yorker has long been a benchmark in American magazine journalism, much like how The Elements of Style has been a cornerstone for writing. Founded by Harold Ross in 1925, he led the magazine until his passing in 1951. Ross envisioned The New Yorker as humorous, intellectual, and refined, famously stating it was not "for the old lady in Dubuque." White joined the magazine in its inaugural year and contributed until his death in 1985. He is largely credited with shaping the magazine's unique voice. The New Yorker has had such a profound impact that countless aspiring writers have turned to it for guidance and inspiration, much like they have looked to Strunk and White's book.
The late 1950s marked a golden era for American magazine journalism, coinciding with the first publication of The Elements of Style. During this time, William Shawn was the editor of The New Yorker. The magazine boasted approximately 450,000 subscribers—a remarkable figure for a publication intended for a single city's audience—and had sufficient advertising to ensure its profitability. Throughout its history, The New Yorker has been home to some of the era's finest writers, including John Updike, Jonathan Schell, and Calvin Trillin, along with White, who was involved in every facet of the magazine. From writing the iconic "Talk of the Town" feature to contributing to cover art, White's influence was significant. The magazine offered a diverse array of articles, all meticulously written and edited, ranging from satirical commentary to groundbreaking short stories and hard-hitting investigative journalism. In his work, The Press and America, Edwin Emery describes The New Yorker as "possibly the most distinctive of American magazines," noting that it was more than just cartoons and whimsical fiction; it included deep "Profiles," "Reporter at Large" segments, and other sharp analyses of public affairs.
In the late 1950s, The New Yorker led a prestigious group of American magazines. Harper’s, with a history spanning over a century, began as a literary publication before evolving into a magazine focused on public affairs. The Saturday Evening Post, tailored for the "old lady in Dubuque" and others across the heartland, boasted around six million subscribers nationwide who eagerly consumed its fiction, biographies, and reports on current events. Esquire was a literary magazine that featured works by prominent authors such as Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, John Steinbeck, and Truman Capote, alongside emerging writers. Reader’s Digest, which had been established in the 1920s, began to mirror the conservative beliefs and motivational philosophies of its founder, DeWitt Wallace. It dominated in terms of circulation; from 1946 to 1970, its circulation doubled to nearly eighteen million in the United States, with an additional ten million readers in sixty countries worldwide. Political magazines were also flourishing, with National Review where William F. Buckley Jr. advocated for right-wing views, and the Nation and New Republic supporting left-wing perspectives.
Literary Style
Authoritative Tone
Strunk crafted his original manuscript with the commanding presence of a professor lecturing from a podium. White, in his contributions, maintained this authoritative style. Though the authors concede that some of their opinions may not be universally accepted, they present these views as embodying the pinnacle of written English standards. The book predominantly employs imperative sentences to convey its rules and principles: "Put statements in positive form"; "express coordinate ideas in similar form" (the principle of parallel construction); "revise and rewrite." Staying true to their advice on avoiding vague qualifiers, Strunk and White refrain from using phrases like "try to...," "it is a good idea to...," or "if possible..." Their message is straightforward: These are the rules, and skilled writers adhere to them. A reader of
(This entire section contains 481 words.)
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Strunk crafted his original manuscript with the commanding presence of a professor lecturing from a podium. White, in his contributions, maintained this authoritative style. Though the authors concede that some of their opinions may not be universally accepted, they present these views as embodying the pinnacle of written English standards. The book predominantly employs imperative sentences to convey its rules and principles: "Put statements in positive form"; "express coordinate ideas in similar form" (the principle of parallel construction); "revise and rewrite." Staying true to their advice on avoiding vague qualifiers, Strunk and White refrain from using phrases like "try to...," "it is a good idea to...," or "if possible..." Their message is straightforward: These are the rules, and skilled writers adhere to them. A reader ofThe Elements of Style would likely infer that Professor Strunk was not one to ask his students, "Are there any questions?" His rules for written English are precise, tidy, and not open to debate.
Humor
The book’s strict tone is softened considerably by its generous use of humor. Without this humor, the authors might come across as harsh taskmasters. Their playful wit enlivens the text, allowing readers to laugh at their own linguistic missteps. Those aware of mistakenly using "nauseous" when "nauseated" was correct feel corrected, not chastised, when they read:
Nauseous. Nauseated. The first means "sickening to contemplate"; the second means "sick at the stomach." Do not, therefore, say "I feel nauseous," unless you are sure you have that effect on others.
White’s introduction acknowledges Strunk’s own humor as the source of the book’s playful spirit. White shares that Strunk found the term "student body" distasteful and aimed to replace it; the professor visited the Alumni News office to propose using "studentry" (a term he coined, akin to "citizenry") instead. White notes, "I am told that the News editor was so charmed by the visit, if not by the word, that he ordered the student body buried, never to rise again." White adds that "studentry" is "not much of an improvement, but it does sound less cadaverous." Many readers have been as amused by the humor of Strunk and his coauthor as that college editor was.
Scope
Classic reference books are generally extensive, providing solutions to nearly every conceivable question on their subject. However, The Elements of Style is not exhaustive. Although it has expanded since Strunk's original version from the early 1900s, the term "bigger" is relative, and the present edition still fits Strunk's description of it as "the little book." In contrast, The New York Public Library Writer’s Guide to Style and Usage is thorough at 838 pages. Meanwhile, The Elements of Style, with fewer than one hundred pages, is distinctive. It became and continues to be a classic because it addresses common challenges for many writers and does so in an eccentric yet compelling manner.
Compare and Contrast
1950s:The New Yorker is a witty, urban magazine featuring works by prominent literary figures, including humorists James Thurber and Ogden Nash, as well as the sharp-tongued critic Dorothy Parker. The magazine is also known for its cartoons, contributed by artists like Charles Addams and other renowned illustrators.
Today:The New Yorker continues to showcase the writings of esteemed authors such as Calvin Trillin and John McPhee, along with cartoons by artists like Roz Chast and many others.
1950s: Magazines are printed on paper, sold at newsstands, or delivered via mail. There is a significant delay of several months between the writing of an issue and its delivery to readers.
Today: Most magazines that offer print versions also provide digital editions online. Thanks to electronic publishing technology, online editions can be updated continuously, enabling an article to be written, edited, and consumed by readers all within a single day. Besides traditional magazines, there are thousands of e-zines that exist solely in digital form, with quality ranging from professional journals to newsletters created by hobbyists.
1950s: The written word is the main medium for sharing news and information and serves as a significant source of entertainment. While television offers a limited selection of news programs, most rely on newspapers for detailed and local news coverage. Although Americans enjoy movies, they also turn to books and magazines for humor and other entertainment.
Today: Visual media has surpassed text as the dominant form of news and entertainment. There are hundreds of television channels, some providing 24-hour news coverage. Online news sources also offer continuously updated information. People can watch movies and other entertainment at home anytime through videocassettes, DVDs, cable and satellite movie channels, and increasingly, online. Overall, Americans read less and watch more than in the past.
Bibliography and Further Reading
Sources
Baum, P. F., Review of The Elements of Style, in Los Angeles Times Book Review, 1960, reprinted on August 22, 1982, p. 4.
Churchill, Winston, My Early Life: A Roving Commission, Scribner’s, 1930, p. 218.
Emery, Edwin, The Press and America, 3rd ed., Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972, pp. 569–76.
Fried, Debra, "Bewhiskered Examples in The Elements of Style," in Western Humanities Review, Vol. 45, No. 4, Winter 1991, pp. 304–11.
Hacker, Diane, A Writer’s Reference, 5th ed., St. Martin’s, 2002.
Hall, Donald, The Modern Stylists, Collier-Macmillan, 1968, p. 5.
Hoffman, Gary, and Glynis Hoffman, Adiós, Strunk and White: A Handbook for the New Academic Essay, 2nd ed., Verve Press, 1999.
Nabokov, Vladimir, Lolita, G. P. Putnam’s Sons, 1955, p. 11.
Pater, Walter, in Contemporary Review, February 1895, as cited in Trimble, John, Writing with Style, Prentice Hall, 2000, p. 180.
Sampson, Edward C., "Chapter Nine: The Elements of Style," in E. B. White, Twayne’s United States Authors Series, 1974.
Scary, Elaine, On Beauty and Being Just, Princeton University Press, 1999, pp. 23–25.
Strunk, William, Jr., and E. B. White, The Elements of Style, 3rd ed., Macmillan, 1979, p. 21.
White, E. B., The Points of My Compass, HarperCollins, 1979.
Further Reading
Elledge, Scott, E. B. White: A Biography, Norton, 1984. This detailed biography by a Cornell University English professor explores White’s personal and career life.
Gill, Brendan, Here at "The New Yorker", Random House, 1975. Brendan Gill, who was a staff writer at The New Yorker for over forty years, offers an insider’s perspective on the magazine and its renowned writers and editors, including White.
McQuade, Donald, and Robert Atwan, eds., Popular Writing in America: The Interaction of Style and Audience, 5th ed., Oxford University Press, 1995. This comprehensive anthology examines style across various writing forms, from advertising and newspapers to classic literature. It also features numerous essays by diverse authors such as White, Frederick Douglass, Maxine Hong Kingston, and Annie Dillard.
Olmstead, Robert, Elements of the Writing Craft, Story Press, 1997. Novelist and short story writer Robert Olmstead provides over 150 targeted writing lessons, each starting with a sample from a skilled writer to demonstrate the technique. Olmstead then offers an analysis of the sample and suggests exercises for aspiring writers to practice the technique.
