It is by all odds the loftiest of cities. It even managed to reach the highest point in the sky at the lowest moment of the depression.
E. B. WhiteRead
A single overstatement, wherever or however it occurs, diminishes the whole, and a carefree superlative has the power to destroy, for the reader, the object of the writer's enthusiasm.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Exaggeration can undermine the value of writing and mislead the reader.
E. B. White emphasizes that even a single instance of exaggeration in writing can negatively affect the entire piece. When writers use carefree superlatives, they risk diminishing the true significance of their subject, ultimately misleading the reader and undermining the enthusiasm they intended to convey.
Themes
ExaggerationWritingTruthValueEnthusiasm
In practice
Example use cases
In a writing workshop, a participant could use this quote to remind others about the importance of accuracy.
More from E. B. White
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The main thing I try to do is write as clearly as I can. Because I have the greatest respect for the reader, and if he's going to the trouble of reading what I've written -- I'm a slow reader myself and I guess most people are -- why, the least I can do is make it as easy as possible for him to find out what I'm trying to say, trying to get at. I rewrite a good deal to make it clear.
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A good farmer is nothing more nor less than a handy man with a sense of humus.
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A despot doesn't fear eloquent writers preaching freedom- he fears a drunken poet who may crack a joke that will take hold.
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All writing is communication; creative writing is communication through revelation-it is the Self-escaping into the open.
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