Analysis of Greenblatt's Writing

"The stuff of the universe, Lucretius proposed, is an infinite number of atoms moving randomly through space, like dust motes in a sunbeam, colliding, hooking together, forming complex structures, breaking apart again, in a ceaseless process of creation and destruction. There is no escape from this process. When you look up at the night sky and, feeling unaccountably moved, marvel at the numberless stars, you are not seeing the handiwork of the gods or a crystalline sphere detached from our transient world. You are seeing the same material world of which you are a part and from whose elements you are made. There is no master plan, no divine architect, no intelligent design. All things, including the species to which you belong, have evolved over vast stretches of time. The evolution is random, though in the case of living organisms it involves a principle of natural selection. That is, species that are suited to survive and to reproduce successfully endure, at least for a time; those that are not so well suited die off quickly. But nothing—from our own species to the planet on which we live to the sun that lights our days—lasts forever. Only the atoms are immortal." - Stephen Greenblatt, The Swerve

Throughout Greenblatt's writing all of his sentences are very straight forward and they lay out his points clearly and concisely. It helps make even the most esoteric of his points easy to understand. The use of the second person also helps the reader connect with the ideas and concepts he is presenting. When dealing with esoteric concept it is very easy for writing to become bogged down with unnecessarily flowery language. Greenblatt is able to avoid that, which helps make his writing much more accessible for his readers. This is not to say that his writing is in anyway juvenile and unsophisticated, but his choice of words is never superfluous. This clear way of delivering complicated ideas will be greatly to his advantage in any sort of long historical analysis because as soon as authors start to become unclear in his writing, he starts to loose readers. If he keeps on with this handling of complex ideas I am very excited to read the rest of his book.