English 5365 Week Seven Post
Topic: Baron provides examples of "a better pencil." What does he mean by the concept, and how might that impact style? Consider what your approach to your final course paper might be and how Baron's ideas relate to it.
Baron describes clay tablets, styluses, quills, pencils, steel-tipped pens, typewriters, computers, etc., as writing technologies. I would include the alphabet itself as a writing technology. At some point in time, it was created to allow us to write down words that had only previously been spoken. What then, is a better pencil?
I believe that Baron's better pencil is the result of our continual interest in speeding up the production and dissemination of the written word. The quill pen was leaps ahead of the clay tablet and stylus. Pointing quills and compounding inks had to be easier than pressing characters into wet clay and allowing it to dry. The pencil was a vast leap from the quill pen and ink pot providing portability that had not previously been available.
Recently, I watched PBS's version of Jane Austen's Persuasion. In the opening act, we see a young woman running through the house scribbling things on a bit of paper. Then we see her stop by a servant standing in the hallway to dip the pen into the pot of ink on the servant's little silver tray. This was an interesting example of the lack of portability of pen and ink. Imagine carrying that ink pot around. The pencil would be a vast improvement.
From pencils, we moved through assorted varieties of pens and even to pencils with refillable leads. We also started using typewriters, word processor, and computers. Today, we can sit outside and type on a laptop computer if we have one, where once upon a time, it was not even convenient to write outside because of the tribulations of quill and ink pot.
Baron describes clay tablets, styluses, quills, pencils, steel-tipped pens, typewriters, computers, etc., as writing technologies. I would include the alphabet itself as a writing technology. At some point in time, it was created to allow us to write down words that had only previously been spoken. What then, is a better pencil?
I believe that Baron's better pencil is the result of our continual interest in speeding up the production and dissemination of the written word. The quill pen was leaps ahead of the clay tablet and stylus. Pointing quills and compounding inks had to be easier than pressing characters into wet clay and allowing it to dry. The pencil was a vast leap from the quill pen and ink pot providing portability that had not previously been available.
Recently, I watched PBS's version of Jane Austen's Persuasion. In the opening act, we see a young woman running through the house scribbling things on a bit of paper. Then we see her stop by a servant standing in the hallway to dip the pen into the pot of ink on the servant's little silver tray. This was an interesting example of the lack of portability of pen and ink. Imagine carrying that ink pot around. The pencil would be a vast improvement.
From pencils, we moved through assorted varieties of pens and even to pencils with refillable leads. We also started using typewriters, word processor, and computers. Today, we can sit outside and type on a laptop computer if we have one, where once upon a time, it was not even convenient to write outside because of the tribulations of quill and ink pot.
posted by Jessica Badger at
6:45 PM
3 Comments:
Hi Jessica,
I agree that Baron’s examples of “a better pencil” illustrate how the development of writing technologies influences our writing practices. The use of better writing implements not only increases our writing speed but also changes the way we communicate, making us see the significance of writing in communication.
Xiling
Hello, Jessica,
Interesting thought: the servant holding the pot of ink in Jane Eyre.
I had a similar thought as I watched the typesetter at Williamsburg, Va putting together lines of type. How much better we have it today as our publications can be produced anywhere, not just in a city by a journeyman typesetter.
Enjoyed reading your post, Jessica. I can see your work, btw, is very reflective. This will help you in many ways as you graduate with a degree in our program. Good thinking about Austen and portability, for instance. You're reflecting over lessons learned in one context and trying them on for size in another. That's the purpose of education in general.
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