"Like the rest of the Declaration, the preamble is "brief, free of verbiage, a model of clear, concise, simple statement."(11) It capsulizes in five sentences--202--words what it took John Locke thousands of words to explain in his Second Treatise of Government. Each word is chosen and placed to achieve maximum impact. Each clause is indispensable to the progression of thought. Each sentence is carefully constructed internally and in relation to what precedes and follows. In its ability to compress complex ideas into a brief, clear statement, the preamble is a paradigm of eighteenth-century Enlightenment prose style, in which purity, simplicity, directness, precision, and, above all, perspicuity were the highest rhetorical and literary virtues. One word follows another with complete inevitability of sound and meaning. Not one word can be moved or replaced without disrupting the balance and harmony of the entire preamble."(Declaration of Independence- The Sylistic Artistry)
Is it sad when I read this quote from "The Declaration of Independence-The Sylistic Artistry" and can think only of music theory? Precise placement of notes and chords. The importance of chord progression. Counterpoint. Structure. Sequence....*sigh.* Perhaps. However, in some ways, the fact that Jefferson's construction of the Declaration reminded me of music theory is not surprising. Much like the careful and regimented construction of tonal music, underlying the beauty which the listener hears, the writing of the Declaration employed a careful crafting and manipulation of the rudiments of the English language. In some sense, the Declaration of Independence is a song of early America, carefully drawing together concepts and events to craft a coherent and persuasive argument.
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