Semantic Antic Malcolm Bradbury has written in the current issue
of 20th Century a provocative little intro- duction to a study of the changing fashion in our language of morality. There's good thesis material for somebody in this, if it can be pinned down long enough for examination. Bradbury's best example is the word 'Puritan,' which has prac- tically become a battlefield on its own since Richard Hoggart appropriated it for the pro- Chatterley lobby. Now it will take years for the word to settle down, and in the meantime, when a man describes himself as a Puritan, you'll have to get his entire life story before you know whether he means he's pro-Life or anti-Life (de- pending, as Mr. Bradbury points out, on how you yourself define Life). Mr. Bradbury has drawn up a tantalisingly brief chart to illustrate the total incomprehension between the old-style and the new-style moralists. 'Libertine' (old-style) equals 'Puritan' (new-style). Puritan (OS) equals Censor (NS). And how about 'in'? This one bothers me, since the people who believe them- selves to be In describe their condition as Far Out. I think.
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