Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1900-12-27
I o OF AUTHORS.
5ects Naturally Use n Lot Of
Green Words.

At first sight it may seem rather
curious, but it is a fax that the value
of a writer's work may be appraised
by the color words he uses. Shake
speare's fayorite color word was red.
AS a matter of fact. this is the char
acteristic word of most great writer's.
Out of every hundred color words
used by Shakespeare in his poems. no
fewer than 30 are red. White follows
with %; then comes black, 20; yellow,
IT; green, z; blue, 4.
1t is only natural. says the C1ncin-
natl Enquirer, that a writer on coun-
try subjects should use a lot of green
words. Red must always be the pre-
dominant color in writings dealing
with the hotter passions. with love
and war. Even then the colors used
depend in a remarkable manner upon
the idiosyncracies of the writer. TAX
ing the ease of the poets, green is the
color most used in the Song of Songs.
Tt is also the color most used Dy
Coleridge, Shelley, Keats and Words
worth. Black is the predominant col
or of Homer, and white of Catullus,
CHANGER and Rosetti, while yellow is
Ine 1dtOIIES SO4O1
writer. Poe. Red is the color OF Ten
nvson. of Swinburne and Whitman.
Tt must be taken into consideration
that the old writer's often used color
words in a different to their
present meaning. Some people go SO
far as to say that things looked quite
different to the ancients, n that
green and blue have been seen only
during the last LOCO years.
Red is the most pleasant and vigor-
Gus of colors. 1t is a joyous color,
full of life and grit. 1t is h color
of the strongest of passions. In any
thing dealing with man and oma
red must nave its predominant place.
It is the color of the rich, quick blood,
of all that's best in life. White IS
usually a pleasant color, especially
when associated with red, as a wom-
ans white neck and red lips, ivory
throat and blushing cheeks, alabaster
forehead and rosy ears. Sometimes 1T
represents cold, dull, pale, gray and
wan things. Generally it is h color
of innocence and purity, OF sweet and
wholesome things. Black, as a favor
lite verbal color, is usually found in
the works of writer's of somber, mel
ancholic disposition. Such works are
rarely of a healthy character. Green
and blue are so closely related, in the
sense used in this article, as often to
merge. Generally green is a fresh,
sweet color, the color of the country
and opening life. Blue has more to
do with the imagination. 1t is a
learned. philosophical color. 1t is
ethical and generally removed from
everyday life. The works of a blue
writer are deep and thoughtful, but
rarely raise ones enthusiasm. The
strong. human, red interest is lacking,
Yellow is a horrible color. Nearly
everyone feels a natural antipathy to
this iaundiced hue. 1t and black were
the favorite colors of Poe and h u
account for the strangeness of that
original writer's peculiar imaginings'
Curiously enough, yellow loses Its
1oathsomeness if it possesses a dash OF
red or if it glistens. Its synonym
asaden Is a pleasant word and is often
Used. A novelist will call his char,
acter's hair golden in the case of a
heroine; he will call it yellow if she
be an Objectionable character. Writ
ers use coIors in the sense shown fol
the simple reason that we uncon'
sciously have all our thoughts tinted
If in good health we think red; should
our liver be out of order we think
yellow. The bright, healthy majority
are naturally red thinker and read
the works of red writer's. Your jovia
fellow looks at the world through
rosy glasses and sees ii To be ODtimis
tically red. The debilitated, burnt
out individual YEARLY looks through
spectacles with yellow glasses and the
prospect is hopelessly miserable.
SPEND IITTLE ON LIVING.