Why should the study of "literature" preclude the study of "grammar"? In
fact, can you really explain the effectiveness of a literary passage
without studying the precise relationship of the verbal units (words,
phrases, clauses) to each other? And isn't that what we mean by grammar
and syntax? Grammatical and syntactical choices have rhetorical effects.
The division between these two "camps" is false and to the detriment of
both. The Advanced Placement English Program of the College Board nicely
recognizes the influence of language choices on style. Surely it is time
for a marriage of these two approaches to written expession. How can ATEG
promote this?
Rev. Laurence Kriegshauser, OSB
St. Louis Priory School
St. Louis, MO