why is it so wrong to sometimes use clichés?

Question

I mean they are clichés for a reason, because they were beautiful phrases? Yes ok it gets boring, but there will come a time when words are all just clichés. How many songs and poems do you really like that are full of clichés? it's common and safe yes, but they can be used in an imaginative way can't they? Personally I kinda like the odd cliché every now and then, especially when it is applied in a different way to how many of us would have otherwise percieved it, thoughts on the matter anyone? We only say it is wrong because that is what our lecturers have said.

good answers, Oh I was so wrong thank-you for showing me the light, just kidding. Ok so I don't really like clichés, I use to use them a lot as a kid and try not to now. Maybe my question should have been how to re-invent a cliché, I mean like how do you take something you have heard so often, that used to sound beautiful to a young mind, and make it your own?

Answer 1

There is nothing that you can phrase that has not at some time or some place not been phrased before. That makes everything a cliche' of sorts.
Most of the people I have found who complain of cliche's are the people who use them most often. And some of the rest aren't even sure what it is. If you are doing the writing, and a cliche' fits better than anything else, use it.

Answer 2

It's not "wrong," it's dull. They are cliches because someone else thought them up. Not all words will become cliches, because the way we use words is continually evolving. The letter e can now be added as a prefix to any word, for example.
They can be used in an imaginative way. I've responded to several poems that did that, and found it interesting.
But take heart, your ship will come in soon. All the world's a stage, and you can be anything! Mind your p's and q's, don't step on anyone's toes, and keep fighting the good fight. About those errant lecturers, those who can do, do; those who can't do, teach, right?

Edit: You ask how to use them effectively. . .
I can't think of any ideas for the short phrases, but there are story lines that are familiar and get re-worked successfully.
I have a lot of Gregory Maguire books on my shelves. He does reinterpretations of Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Cinderella. Anne Sexton put out a volume of poetry called Transformations that does the same thing. I think Anne Rice did something like that when she changed the idea of a vampire. It had been a musty, dark, pale, monster thing. She made them more human, gave them some traits that people could identify more like a Romantic Hero than a villain. Of course, now that version has also become very familiar.

Answer 3

clichés are boring. people don't want to hear them. especially when they are often juts corny and make people roll their eyes.

clichés aren't beautiful phrases.

i don't think words will ever all be just clichés because most people will always be more imaginative than that. and many songs aren't full of clichés. the decent ones anyways. the crap ones, maybe. can you name an example of a cliché being applied in a different way to how we would otherwise perceive something?

i don't think clichés are wrong because a lecturer told me so that is a bad assumption to make. clichés are just unimaginative and boring and b'eh.

Answer 4

The big difference between popular lyrics and poems are clichés. I've been told by more than one songwriter that if you want to have a hit in the top 40, you have to pack your lyrics with as many clichés as is humanly possible. ...unless you are trying to be the next Bob Dylan.

Clichés in poetry are a no-no because the standards are higher. You are not appealing to a mass audience. Poetry is viewed as the "high art" of literature. Editors and critics view poetry as the place where clichés are often born, not a place for them to form a domestic herd.

It's a different mindset, a different set of benchmarks, and a different intended audience.

Answer 5

You bring up an interesting assertion "there will come a time when words are all just clichés." I just saw an interview with Thomas McGrath and he said something like, "if we burned all the dictionaries and started over with language every word would be poetry." I think you're right cliches are great when you're younger because you haven't heard them a million times. When we hear new language (words arranged in original ways) we often call it poetic or poetry. You and I and almost everyone else probably likes the odd cliches because we haven't heard them often enough to get bored by them.

Answer 6

Unless you use a cliche to make a point, to add humour for example, your work isn't considered imaginative. There are exceptions. Think about Meatloaf's Two Out of Three Ain't Bad or the old Frank Sinatra ballad Here's That Rainy Day. The latter uses a cliche to perfection as a basis for an entire song.

There are many others. These two just happened to come to mind. Oops! That's a cliche! They really are hard to avoid.

Answer 7

You shouyld avoid cliches because the point of writing is to express things in your own words. Simply cobbling together phrases already established is lazy and unoriginal. The real dream is to creat a new cliche that so resonates with the audience that it becomes a part of their speech. "Generation X" and "Catch-22" are some good examples. As for reinventing cliches, I'd suspect, based on the fact that you had to ask this question, that you aren't yet developed enough as a writer to do so. Save that for your writing a decade down the road.

Answer 8

Cliches can be so trite. I think that they're used quite often as a cop-out because we don't really want to think about the issue we've been presented with.

I used to like the one about every cloud has a silver lining. Now, I prefer to say something about every storm brings its own beauty.

So having said that, go forth & sieze the moment for it is yours for the taking! : )

Answer 9

because:
1. It is overused.
2. Some people get it differently (Thats why it is a cliche)
3. Its flowery, beating around the bush way of answering a question which sometimes doesnt really answer the question.

Answer 10

How about ... maximum individuals do issues because it style of sounds like a robust idea. think about to study % up how they see themselves and the international and stuff to verify how that works - yet I easily have found it to be actual. the right element to do for the incorrect motives is the incorrect element to do. the incorrect element to do yet for the right motives would properly be more suitable ideal. the right element for the right motives is perfect. once you may justify some element as ok, the first flaw you made become ignoring it and searching on the justification. Having undesirable reports doesnt mean you should do undesirable issues. Doing undesirable issues does mean you should have undesirable reports. (regardless of if on that one i ask your self in basic terms how numb to them they should be no longer to verify). .... And one which I loved - its from terry pratchet. paraphrased. they say once you die your existence flashes before your eyes, it does, its noted as living.