Is cursing in fiction necessary?

Recently I ran across this question: Is cursing necessary in writing? I thought it was an interesting question.

I wouldn't say cursing was necessary but the frequency with which it appears in texts throughout our written history indicates that cursing is a part of our everyday speech as well as our entertainment (whether you like to hear it or not). Even the eminent William Shakespeare was fond of a good curse or blasphemy, although many readers may not recognise them as such. 

• "'sBlood" - God's blood
• "sWounds" or "'zwounds" - God's wounds
• "Firk" - meaning "fuck"
• "Sluic'd" - meaning "fucked"
• "Out, damn'd spot!" - referring to blood or the reddening of hands through murder
• "What the dickens?" - referring to Satan, as in "What the devil?"
• "What the deuce?" - referring to Satan, as in "What the devil?"

And if his quick cursing wasn't fit to entertain he would write insults and black observations like these:

• "So, so, thou common dog, didst thou disgorge thy glutton bosom."
• "Have you no modesty, no maiden shame, no touch of bashfulness?"
• "He daily doth frequent with unrestrained loose companions."
• "Her beauty and her brain go not together."
• "He will fence with his own shadow."
• "He shall die a flea's death."
• "Damn her, lewd minx!"
• "Base dunghill villain, and mechanical, I'll have thy head for this."
• "There's many a man hath more hair than wit."
• "Out of my sight! Thou dost infect my eyes."
• "Many a man there is (even at this present, now, while I speak this) holds his wife by th' arm, that little thinks she has been sluic'd in 's absence and his pond fish'd by his next neighbour, by Sir Smile, his neighbour."

Oh, I could go one for absolutely ages...

As for Chaucer... Wow. Really, just wow.

He didn't just use swear words, blasphemy and foul language. No, he was one for xenophobic insult as well. If you manage to get past the Middle English (some words are still the Old English versions while some would be used for years to come as Middle English and our English) to tackle the text for its content then you will find an incredible amount of swearing, bawdiness and insults. And it is what gives his characters depth and believability because most are the likes of cooks, merchants, millers or knights: the ones you'd expect such words and behaviour from. Besides, you simply cannot tell a bawdy tale properly without using curse words, innuendo, insults or double-entendre.

• “Sir Parrishe Prest,” quod he, “for Goddes bones telle us a tale … by Goddes dignitee!”
• "For Cristes sake, ne swereth nat so synfully in dismembrynge of Crist by soule, herte, bones and body. For certes it semeth that ye thynke that the cursed Jewes ne dismembred nat ynough the preciouse persone of Crist, but ye dismembre hym more."
• "The cursed Jewes"
• “By God! I hadde rather than my sherte.”
• “I-blessed be thy breche and every stoon”
• “O leeve sire shrew, Jhesu shorte thy life!”
• “By Godes herte!”
• “For Cristes peyne,” “for Cristes passioun.”
• Our Host gan to swere as he were wood [mad]; “Harrow!” quod he, “by nayles and by blood!”
  
• "shitten shepherd and clene sheep"

Does this sound less impressive than "fuck"? It isn't. These manage to insult in far worse ways than by crudely referencing sex or that someone is unlikeable. These lines go straight for what is most important to many of the era: religion. Oh, that isn't to say that Chaucer never used terms meaning something similar to "fuck" because he surely did. Multiple times. Or he'd just write this:

"Derk was the night as pich, or as the cole,

And at the window out she putte hir hole

And Absolon, him fil no bet ne wers,

But with his mouth he kiste hir naked ers

Ful savourly, er he was war of this."

(I'm definitely leaving this untranslated or it becomes a little too rude for the younger readers.)

All this from an English poet of the medieval era said by Thomas Hoccleve to be “the first finder of our fair language.”

So if the two greatest writers we know; Chaucer who helped establish Middle English and wrote down many words never before seen in manuscripts (it is unsure if he invented them) and Shakespeare who invented more words than any other writer and has become a, if not the, figurehead of English literature, used cursing on a regular basis to add colour to their works as well as humour, cynicism and black wit then it is fairly safe to say that cursing, although not necessary, definitely has its place in literature.

Personally, I think that if it is used in everyday speech then it can and sometimes should be included in dialogue as it adds depth and realism to the characters. But as with everyday speech, overuse is off-putting. I do tend to swear a great deal myself but I blame my woodworking and tomboy past for that (trust me, any craft where a final cut or assembly is done wrong means you've lost a stack of money, time, effort and supplies will make you swear a blue streak similar to and sometimes worse than that done by your average sailor). Still, in my writing I tend to be a bit conservative. In my latest manuscript I made every single swear word or curse appear in another language: Croatian, French etc. An amusing result is that the swearing has gained a touch of class and has about the same impact on a reader as when you hear cursing in a foreign language and just have to find out what it is. Also, I have only used one curse more than once. The rest are all distinct in their application, appropriate to the moment.

Variety is the key, as you know if you frequently swear a blue streak. It isn't worth the time of effort to include swearing in your work if you just use the word "fuck" two hundred times. It is boring more than anything else and we all know what happens to boring reads. It also isn't worth the effort if you place it unnecessarily. By this I mean, if a character isn't saying it then it can probably be cut as narrators don't tend to swear unless they are actually one of the characters. If a character swears too much - your readers will let you know or you may be able to tell yourself - then cull it back. In the case of swearing less is more. Limited and appropriate use, such as when a character is anger, lascivious, shocked or insulting someone, is more impressive than overuse or consistent use. Swearing can also be used to set scenes, establish authenticity in a gritty world and generally lower the tone, which can be required for some stories to read true. You wouldn't write a book on gangsters without including swearing. It just wouldn't ring true because we expect gangsters to swear.

So, while not necessary for the most part I'd say that cursing in fiction is here to stay and has its place, one easily defended. Use it wisely and you'll see your characters become real, understandable and sometimes sympathetic. Use it badly and you'll turn your readers away.

The difference between literary fiction and other genres

To be honest, sometimes I can't tell the difference between a well written fiction book and a literary text. The differences can be too abstract for the reader to clearly understand. 

I just ran across this statement by Sonia Meyer: "Literature is when after finishing the book, the characters remain" as well as other statements to the effect of literature allows us to understanding ourselves and help our hearts to know ourselves. 

I have no essential problem with literature being classified as books that reflect and explore what it is to be human but what book doesn't in its own way do just that?

Even dictionaries are an in-depth exploration into ourselves because all our words, our base mode of communicating, are written down for us to search through whenever it pleases us. But less on non-fiction which obviously explores what it is to be human by writing it down as baldly as possible and more about the other fiction genres.

Standard fiction, if you could ever really get away with calling it such, often does exactly the same thing as literature in terms of humanity's self exploration and reflection but often includes more laughs, off-the-wall adventures, distorted but illuminating reflections on uncommonly approached subjects all packaged in light fluff that is extraordinarily hard to write. Although I don't generally read general fiction, being a fantasy, sci-fi and horror buff, I have to say there is a reason why so many people love a good general fiction read. The themes, motifs, plot designs and devices are less bogged down in earnest sole-searching and more into illuminating the play of our world and our minds. Never underestimate the importance of play in what it is to be human (that is another giant scientific subject in itself but really, play is fundamental to humans both in the development of the individual and of society).

Romance books explore what it is to love, obsess, hate, desire, want, adore, need, crave or fall into a rut, find your place, establish a home, build a nest, bring up a family and many other things besides, all through either rose coloured glasses or very blue ones. Both rose and blue viewpoints are valid as they are a part of out own instinctual pessimistic and optimistic impulses. Although I find rose coloured viewpoints a little hard to take due to my normally purple or blue viewpoint, I still believe romance literature, as fluffy and annoying as it can be, is a valid and interesting exploration into our hearts. It is often what we'd like to happen more than what does but who of us doesn't dream of belonging somewhere and to someone? We are beings that need such things on a fundamental level and to do without is like losing a part of your humanity.

Crime novels explore our darker sides. Whether fictional or true crime they reflect our worse desires, our animal side and where civilisation breaks down due to greed, hate, revenge, desire, egoism and all things dark to black in nature. We even call some of what is explored evil and believe it either essential in our human makeup or in the universal makeup. While I don't subscribe to the universal viewpoint or to 'evil' as such I do see that our base animal instincts are not always a good fit with our higher ideals for society. The mismatch and all the problems that come with it can rot a person's character. The result is that we can and do commit crimes against one another either individually or en masse. Both such occurrences are explored in crime novels, the characters often reflecting the deepest and most suppressed individual (and social) dark drives.

Fantasy books are one of the best formats for soul and heart searching a human can possible use. Fantasy allows for an objective viewpoint as well as a subjective, both often running parallel to a greater extent than in any other form of literature. Absolutely any issue concerning humanity can be explored, either through an outsider's view of another society or through an insider's search for answers in a strange world. In fact, the best fantasy books aren't ones based solely on fantastical events but on their impact upon an individual or on society (or vice versa). Creation, destruction, life, death, good, evil, lost, found, homeless, landed, greed, generosity, love, hate and anything that can't be set as polarities such as our struggles to survive, our instinctual drive for stability and a home, our need for adventure and excitement, our mistakes and the pitfalls we often find ourselves in because we were too keen. I cannot say enough for fantasy as a genre. It ties everything together and can allow the writer free access, completely without rules and boundaries, to explore any aspect of humanity conceivable. The only matter to consider is whether a publisher will accept it for the mass market. Only publishers will place any guidelines on what is acceptable in fantasy, purely to ensure they sell enough of a particular book. But that is the way it has to be as business is business and you can't make free art so without some guiding principles.

Science-fiction is an interesting genre as it explores our desire to logically explain the universe and all it contains at the very same time as it explores our desire to play with it and break all the rules we do find. There are certain rules to writing science-fiction but they are few and far between, the most important of which is obviously that science is included somewhere in the theme and structure. Science-fiction is a genre that has allowed writers to explore what happens to humanity, to a society, to the world and to the universe if something happens, usually a social, political or technological change or event. The genre allows for and often reflects the light with the dark, preferring purple to blue tinted glasses simply because realism and pessimism go hand in hand with logic and preparedness. The isn't a science-fiction work I know if that hasn't explored humanity's heart and sole in some way, shape or form.

Horror books delve deep into our darkest nightmares, sometimes too dark and sometimes not dark enough. To say we were creatures made entirely of the good, civilised and logical would be a fallacy and the horror genre illuminates that for all and sundry to see. Horror is born of our need for guiding principles to life, our instinctual fears of the 'other' and of death, our darkest desires and drives as well as our need for a good old scare to liven the senses. That might seem nonsensical but well, we are in essence nonsensical creatures. If you don't think so pay earnest attention to your thoughts, reasoning and excuses on the burning social issues that have plagued mankind for centuries. Ask yourself why you do it and deconstruct your position in society, your involvement and why you do anything at all. The answers you find will leave you feeling a little miserable but if you accept that we are formed by contradictions and built on a bundle of nonsense instinct for survival and that almost everything you do or say is tied to your need to survive then you'll do alright. Horror often faces us with the uglier and nonsensical truths, leaving us shaken and searching for more answers as to why. If that isn't writing reflecting the heart and soul of us all then I don't know what is.

Children's literature encompasses all of the above but in easy words and with a limited number of concepts woven into a single story, all so the young mind can grasp it. Any children's literature that doesn't reflect aspects of humanity isn't worth the paper it is written on. That said, it would be very hard to write one that doesn't reflect humanity even a little bit.

Literature needs more than just the classification "books that reflect and explore what it is to be human" to be labelled literature. To me the term literature is almost synonymous with book. A human writing is a human exploring humanity. All books contain aspects of the writer, the audience, society, civilisation and the complex and confusing animal called human.

In identifying literary fiction as literature the standard of writing could be a point of order (sorry, I've been watching a lot of Rumpole of the Bailey) but the standard of all writing has been lifted progressively higher with the proliferation of publishing over the last few centuries. Now, you're probably thinking about classical literature and considering that maybe not, maybe it has fallen, but those writers throughout history who have made it into the classical listing, the canon being its height, were and are the best of the best. There were many more writers who've been forgotten simply because they weren't but they did publish, their works were read and the quality of their work has varied wildly throughout publishing history.

Other than this I'm at a loss. Literary fiction is to me just well written, nicely polished and serious-minded fiction where the writer is earnestly trying to convey a point about humanity and that alone. Play, scares, shock, horror, delight, wonder, discovery, magic, disbelief and many other interesting aspects of writing and reading all take a backseat to this serious exploration of an issue even when they are included. That to me is what make literary fiction literature and is also why I only read it every now and then when the point is one I will be interested in. I see no reason to force myself or others to read literary fiction on a constant basis simply because it is supposed to be serious and high-brow simply because all genres include what I need for a good read: an exploration into what it is to be human.

On fantasy: a simple history and defence

I find fantasy to be a genre that requires skill to write, acceptance to read and wit to appreciate. In most cases it is far from simple and demands much of the reader's imagination. But this isn't the case for everyone. In fact, opinion is divided.

The fantasy genre has a very long history and fantasy works were always called fantasy. Many of the types of works that are in essence fantasy, or indelibly entwined with fantasy, are categorised as something else entirely. Here is a very short history of fantasy as a genre.

• Very early ‘science fiction’ – one of the earliest recorded ‘science fiction’ stories was of alien spiders on the moon and was written by an Egyptian, and by that I mean written when the pyramids were in their early years.

• Children’s stories, fables and cautionary tales have had a very long history of being fantasy based, whether in English or any other language. Monsters, witches, giants, cats in boots, cannibals, lost children in fantastic lands etc. are included and more besides. The works of Aesop and the Grimm Brothers will probably be the first to pop into your mind as these were likely read to you when you were young, that’s how classical these works have become.

• Need I say much on classics like The Odyssey, The Iliad and Beowulf? Monsters, early mythology, exploration of strange lands, missions, good and evil. The list goes on. There is not much in these stories that isn’t fantastical in nature.

• Arthurian tales were around as early as the 14^th century, authors unknown, but as you know they have survived through various works and alternate writings to this day and will likely continue for the foreseeable future.

• Shakespeare, Marlowe and their contemporaries dealt with fantasy as often as they did with real human issues. Witches again, fairies, the devil, shipwrecks the subsequent exploration of a new land by the stranded, ghosts, fortune-tellers etc.

• As you can see, horror stories have been deeply entwined with fantasy since the very beginning. Horror comes from the simple idea that the protagonist meets with a grim fate after making a mistake, either intentionally or unintentionally. Many horror stories contain elements of fantasy simply by having the one dealing the protagonist’s fate be supernatural or fantastical in nature.

• Utopian and dystopian, futuristic literature, some early science fiction (the term ‘science fiction’ became useful as a genre indicator around 1935, after some of the most famous science fiction works were written.) Utopian and dystopian literature became very popular during the industrial revolution as these are the perfect genres for exploring “what if?” questions related to social, political and technological changes. By their nature utopian and dystopian stories required an exploration of either an alternate version of our world, a fantastical society suffering from the perceived problem at hand and possibly even another race of beings who’s society is running parallel to ours. Later works of science fiction continued exploring “what if” questions but with more emphasis the opportunities provided by technology (exploring the bottom of the ocean which is related to exploring a fantastical world), the possibilities of alien encounters and other strange occurrences. As you can see, once again fantasy has become entwined with another genre, this time science fiction.

• Classical works such as Alice in Wonderland, Gulliver’s Travels, Lord of the Rings, The Wizard Of Oz, Peter Pan, The Hobbit, took fantasy to a new level of popularity amongst the world’s readership and also set the benchmark for modern fantasy authors. In fact the genre became so popular, Lord of the Rings incredibly so, that hundreds of stories revolving around missions in fantastical lands and struggles between good and evil were written and published. So many that the genre hit its first big descent in popularity.

• The descent of the genre into the mire of good versus evil and the save the world/s tromp through a strange land continued for too long in the publishing world, and still survives to this day. The over-publication of such works, not always written by talented authors, meant that for an entire generation or two most fantasy repeated old ideas over and over. This was and still is boring, to say the least. It is also the reason why fantasy is often seen as of no real consequence, inadvisable if you wish to write on a serious issue, limited and unworthy of further study or reading. Even I, a rabid fantasy fan, have my doubts about the genre when it is limited in definition by these simple premises and plot devices.

• Luckily a new wave of fantasy came along that was divorced somewhat from the mission and good versus evil themes, or rather, put them on the back burner for strange situations, new creatures, mythology, quirky anecdotes and more outlandish “what if” questions than you’d ever thought to ask. All while exploring what it is to be human and departing some wisdom of their own through themes, incidents and witty observations. This new breath of the fantasy genre was encouraged by the likes of Douglas Adams, Terry Pratchett, Robert Rankin, Tom Holt, Neil Gaiman, Jim Butcher and many others besides.

• Along with this new breath came another branch of fantasy, written less for readership by all and more by females only. This fantasy is a cross between standard fiction, chic literature and fantasy. The protagonist is more often than not female, set on a mission to save something and does so despite incredible odds. There isn’t much difference to standard fantasy other than when it is combined with romantic chic lit and then I can truly understand why men don’t read them so much. In fact, some of these books labelled as fantasy should really just be romance or erotica because the only fantastical element is that the love interest or protagonist is a vampire, werewolf, dragon, shape-shifter etc. and there in lies the romantic problem that needs to be overcome. They can be enjoyable light reads, full of wit and sarcasm, but they can also be as tiresome as the mission and good versus evil fantasy. Where is the new idea?

• But there is something to say for the new branch of fantasy written for the female readership. Urban fantasy, steam punk and alternate history would not have become quite so popular quite so fast without the contribution of female oriented fantasy on these subjects. You’ve likely heard of many of those who’ve contributed to expanding the reach of fantasy within the female readership. Here are some names: Kelley Armstrong, Charlaine Harris, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison, Nora Roberts, Katie MacAlister, Laurell K Hamilton, Anne Rice and others. 

• Fantasy now has sub genres, some of which require definitions. Urban fantasy, alternate history, steam punk, horror, supernatural, comic fantasy, dark fantasy, magic realism, mythic, paranormal fantasy, superhero fantasy, sword and sorcery, epic fantasy / high fantasy, low fantasy, prehistoric fantasy, historical fantasy. These not only indicate the different branches of pure fantasy but also the fantasy that is irrevocably entwined with other genres.

Popular opinion of fantasy is divided because of its sometimes less than glorious past and because fantasy isn’t always recognised as such, having been labelled as horror, science fiction, classical or as a children’s fairy tale. It has often been said to be incomprehensible in its complexity while in the next breath it has passed off as overly simplistic. Both could be said to be true, as with all other genres. It all depends on the story written, the current trend and the skill of the author as well as the acceptance of the reader for the ideas posed.

The section of the world readership following fantasy has grown phenomenally since fantasy was categorised as such and its recognition has seen it become popular in film, television, gaming and even radio formats. It has been used to explore a wide variety of social and political issues, document historical details, impart morals and instructions, witty observations on life, delve into what it is to be human, the conscious and unconscious and more such as the impact of new technologies.

And still the scholarly opinion remains mostly closed to fantasy as being a worthy subject of study. Only those works that could be named classical are studied to any degree for themes, societal and political impacts as well as relations between historical events and the topics of fantasy works. There will be a few studies or theses out there but not nearly as many on any other genre except science fiction and horror. Scholars are more prone to judge fantasy works as of lesser quality or worth even when faced with the works of H G Wells, Jules Verne, Mary Shelley, Edgar Allan Poe and Hans Christian Anderson. Shakespeare, Marlowe, the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and Chaucer still hold the majority of attention despite so very many studies having been conducted on their works.

A mark of this division in perception (scholarly versus popular) is that fantasy is usually shelved with science fiction and horror, which I see as rightly so, far enough away from literature or fiction for the genre to still be called cult and not as valuable. What is strange about this is all classical works were in fact popular at some stage, even if they aren’t still. Popular does not always equal lower quality or less worthy of study.


Another mark is that those who see themselves as readers of high literature only almost never delve into the fantasy, science fiction and horror despite reading the classical versions of it and expounding the virtues of such works. Can no one of modern times write well enough? Or is their opinion of fantasy, science fiction and horror too low? Likely the later as there are many great modern writers who can really spin a tale.

I believe these are issues to be addressed. Popular opinion is far in advance of marketing and scholarship in its recognition of great fantasy works as valuable and of substance. And I believe this opinion to be correct. If you believe that I should have at least studied or experienced what I’m speaking about then let me put that argument to rest before it even begins. I did study literature until I achieved Honors (at which point my stint at studying ended as I couldn’t stand the thought of going back to write another 2 theses to get a P.H.D. Who knows, maybe someday I’ll go back, I still haven’t given up on the idea completely.) and my thesis was on futuristic literature, the genre that blends science fiction as we know it and fantasy.

From my experiences I can say this; I shudder to think what the general scholarly opinion of the modern fantasy greats would be. “Study Douglas Adams? Are you serious?“ is the response I’d expect and in fact received when I mentioned the field of study I actually delved into, which was fair closer to studying the cannon. “Science fiction? Are you serious?” was said and a room full of eyes turned to look at me as though I’d just grown a second head. Yes, I was dead serious. And I still see science fiction and fantasy as well and truly worthy of serious study.