The HyperTexts

Flabby Adjectives: Are Adjectives Bad and to be Avoided?

This is something I hear a lot these days: Adjectives are the poetic version of flab! Poetry should be lean and mean, so go on a diet and cut out the adjectives!

by Michael R. Burch

But it isn’t necessarily true. I remember when Charles Barkley was considered “too fat” to play basketball. But he was one of the greatest players of his era. He ended up with one of the coolest nicknames ever, "The Round Mound of Rebound."

And I think it would come as news to William Shakespeare that adjectives are the “potbelly” of poetry, since he frequently employed them. In fact, he coined a number of new adjectives, including:

bedazzled
lackluster
flawed
jaded
newfangled
premeditated
cold-blooded
hot-blooded
bloodstained
worthless
lonely
eventful
tranquil
deafening
inaudible
multitudinous
countless

There’s nothing “flabby” about any of those adjectives. Yes, writers can overuse adjectives and bad writing can seem “flabby.” But in the right hands adjectives add color and spice to writing. Just as in cooking, the trick is to not overdo things. Cooks and writers need to develop good taste.

The HyperTexts