Two weeks ago a Forum member (she requested not to be named here for personal reasons) asked me these grammar questions: “Can we narrate history in the present tense? What are the editorial considerations when narrating history in the past tense or present tense?”
My reply will be short and sweet, but before giving it, I’ll address these two bigger stylistic concerns first: (1) When is it allowable, permissible, or advisable for the present tense to be used in narratives of past actions, situations, and events? (2) What’s the difference between the two special narrative forms that use the present tense for past occurrences, namely
(a) the rhetorical present of literature, scientific principles, and general truths, and
(b) the historical present?
IMAGE CREDIT: BREWMINATE.COMLet’s first take a look at how the simple present tense works in narrative prose.
The
simple present tense is used for narratives that talk of the here and now: “She
is the most reliable member of our research team.” It’s also suited for oft-repeated actions or permanent conditions: “Under stress, that girl
has a tendency to blink her eyes rapidly.” But for ongoing actions that happen right at the moment they’re being described, the
present progressive is best: “The boy
is watching the balloons let loose by the holiday revelers.”
Now let’s move to the two special narrative forms that use the present tense for past actions, situations, and events. To avoid getting confused though, keep in mind that the historical present is a narrative style that’s distinct from factual history written in the present tense.
As for
the literary rhetorical present, an example is this passage from Alice Walker’s essay “Beauty: When the Other Dancer Is the Self”: “It is a bright summer day in 1947. My father, a fat, funny man with beautiful eyes and a subversive wit, is trying to decide which of his eight children he will take with him to the county fair. My mother, of course, will not go. She is knocked out from getting most of us ready: I hold my neck stiff against the pressure of her knuckles as she hastily completes the braiding and the beribboning of my hair.”
Note that this narrative style tells a story in the past as if it’s happening right now. It makes the action more vivid and gives it a stronger sense of immediacy. Readers can imagine they’re right at the scene of the evolving action.
The literary rhetorical present is also suited for describing scientific principles and general truths, provided they haven’t been disproved yet. See how it works very well in this principle: “Newton's Third Law of Motion
states that for every action or force in nature
there is an equal and opposite reaction.”
Now I think we’re ready to answer the grammar questions posed at the outset: “Can we narrate history in the present tense? What are the editorial considerations when narrating history in the past tense or present tense?”
Historians are right on the grammar track in writing history in the past tense, and I’m sure they’ll keep it that way. Written history could sound so contrived and tacky if told in the present tense, as in this narrative: “Machiavelli
falls out of favor when the Medici princes
return to power and
he is imprisoned on suspicion of crimes against the state.”
And good historians will resist the temptation to use the historical present just for novelty’s sake. At best, they will use it only for quick summaries of what they’ve already narrated in detail: “In 217 BCE, Hannibal
wins the Battle of Lake Trasimen,
deals the worst defeat to the Romans in the Battle of Cannae, but during the Second Punic war he
is successfully repulsed by Marcus Claudius Marcellus in Noa.”
I can’t think of any other compelling editorial consideration that will compel historians to shift their narratives from the past to the present tense.
(Next week:
How the English demonstrative pronouns work)
This essay, 2,075th of the series, appeared in the column “English Plain and Simple” by Jose A. Carillo in the Campus Press section of the August 20, 2020 Internet edition of The Manila Times
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When can history be narrated in the present tense?
