Verb displacement as it relates to prose, is a technique used to impart a lyrical or poetic feel to a phrase, sentence, or paragraph. This technique finds particular expression in

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post–World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Don ...

literature. Specifically, verb displacement involves only those verbs that can be displaced by the word "is" or its past tense "was." For instance, in this excerpt from the novel ''

For Whom the Bell Tolls ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'' is a novel by Ernest Hemingway published in 1940. It tells the story of Robert Jordan, a young American volunteer attached to a Republican guerrilla unit during the Spanish Civil War. As a dynamiter, he is assigned ...

'', instead of writing "He died in April,"

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

displaces the verb "died" with "is," and thereby creates a more lyrical effect:

Origins

The term as it relates to prose in literature (as opposed to poetry or linguistics) was first introduced in 2011 by

Tom Heehler ''The Well-Spoken Thesaurus'' by Tom Heehler (Sourcebooks 2011), is an American style guide and speaking aid. The ''Chicago Tribune'' calls ''The Well-Spoken Thesaurus'' "a celebration of the spoken word". The book has also been reviewed in the ' ...

, author of ''

The Well-Spoken Thesaurus ''The Well-Spoken Thesaurus'' by Tom Heehler (Sourcebooks 2011), is an American style guide and speaking aid. The ''Chicago Tribune'' calls ''The Well-Spoken Thesaurus'' "a celebration of the spoken word". The book has also been reviewed in the ' ...

'', to describe one of the ways in which minimalist writers are able—consciously or otherwise—to enhance simple language without increasing complexity.

References

{{reflist Literature Minimalism Literary terminology

Origins

See also

References