Would Lincoln Text?

What is behind Abraham Lincoln’s writing ability?

Abraham Lincoln is known for his powerful writing ability. The Gettysburg Address is held up as an example in school because of its brevity, clarity and emotion. It isn’t easy to write like Lincoln and much as we might like an easy ten-step program to learn his good writing skills, there isn’t one. An article  I was reading recently  described the art of Lincoln’s writing and discussed the techniques that contribute to his skill. The author recalled a letter responding to an article saying that Lincoln’s writing was accomplished by trickery and engineered construction. The letter asserted that engineering is a poor analogy to describe writing skill because it implies mechanical properties while writing is an art.

More than just familiarity with great writing.

While agreeing with the writer’s point, out author points out that there are numerous rhetorical devices in the Gettysburg Address and he describes some of the as they are applied in such masterpieces as the Book of Common Prayer, the King James Bible and the plays of Shakespeare, all of which were read and enjoyed by Lincoln. It is certainly not surprising to find that he would use the same devices in his own writing. But the author continues to say that many people in Lincoln’s time and since have read and enjoyed these works. He asserts that if familiarity and appreciation were all it takes to develop into a graceful and powerful writer, the world would be full of wonderful writers. Certainly the examples of great writing are inspiration and examples to learn from but even so Lincoln’s familiarity with great writing does not fully explain his skill.

Skill developed on the job.

The author suggests that the forces that helped make Lincoln such a effective communicator go far beyond his love of good writing. He believes that the long years of arguing cases in small town courtrooms helped him learn to use powerful and simple words and phrases to communicate with juries of common people. In these courtrooms, there was no place for long-winded phrases and flowery prose. In addition, he suggests that the importance of the telegraph in communicating with his generals during the Civil War helped him develop a skill at condensing his thoughts into strong, effective and brief communications.

What can we learn from Tweets and texting?

As I read this, I began thinking about two of the new communication techniques that have begun to dominate significant segments of our society – Twitter and text messages. Both constrain the length of a communication and force the author to condense and simplify communications. As I struggle to understand and use them effectively, I wonder if they might not have the same ability to teach concise and powerful communication today as the courtrooms and telegraph offices of Lincoln’s day. Certainly with the numbers of people embracing these new communication tools, everybody is challenged to condense and simplify their writing. Is it possible that new generations of writers will learn powerful new writing skills because of their experience with Twitter and text messages? I don’t know. Will there be a President, facile with these new forms of communication that will be remembered in the future for his writing just like Lincoln?

Time will tell.

This post has been reworked from  the original.  My intent was to improve the keywords but I did tweak the writing as well.  I will appreciate anyone willing to compare this to the original and comment.