"Common Sense" and Common Language

Paper Summary:

This paper details the main themes in Paine's renowned pamphlet "Common Sense", written and published in 1776. It discusses Paine's main goal, which was simply to convince the people of America that a revolution was needed, which would result in the establishment of an independent nation. Paine's publication was generally met with considerable interest by its audience and more than a little ill-humor by academics who considered his writing style to fall far short of the neoclassical ideal. It examines the main themes in "Common Sense" as well as the author's unique method of appealing directly to the highest sentiments of the most common people and the simplest convictions of the most literate. It also discusses the views of various critics who found and continue to find fault with the content and style of writing in Paine's work.

From the Paper:

"The original publication of Thomas Paine's work was generally met with considerable interest by its audience, and more than a little ill-humor by academics who considered his writing style to fall far short of the neoclassical ideal. One contemporary said that his style was"so coarse, that you would think he meant to degrade the language as much as the government." Even a relatively sympathetic colonial magazine, The Monthly Review, recorded in 1791 that Paine was "desultory, uncouth, and inelegant. His wit is coarse, and sometimes disgraced by wretched puns, and his language, though energetic, is awkward, ungrammatical, and often debased by vulgar phraseology."

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