Sarah L. Kaufman on Harnessing the Power of Verbs
Sarah L. Kaufman explores how dynamic verbs can convey emotion and subtext through action in literature, using examples from William Faulkner and Patricia Highsmith to illustrate how verbs evoke sensory and psychological depth. She emphasizes that verbs mediate human experience by shaping perception and allowing readers to infer emotions indirectly. Kaufman also references Emily Dickinson’s poetic use of verbs to highlight their power in suggesting meaning beyond literal action.
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This first appeared in Lit Hub’s Craft of Writing newsletter—sign up here. How do we suggest the ineffable through actions and dynamic verbs? In the following exchange from The Sound and the Fury, William Faulkner wields the power of suggestion with extraordinary ease (and no punctuation). Minimal description, maximum heat. Quentin, the tormented young man who’s narrating the scene, is grilling his sister, Caddy, about her boyfriend: do you love him Caddy do I what she looked at me then everything emptied out of her eyes and they looked like the eyes in the statues blank and unseeing and serene put your hand against my throat she took my hand and held it flat against her throat now say his name Dalton Ames I felt the first surge of blood there it surged in strong accelerating beats say it…
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