Teachable moment -- for readers and authors too

In class, we were discussing Roald Dahl's "Lamb to the Slaughter." The young wife wants to do everything for her husband, who is tired from a day at work. When he rises from his chair to pour himself a drink, the narrator tells us, his wife springs from hers and volunteers to get it for him.

"But why is she crying?" my student asked.

I was mystified. "She's not crying. What gives you that idea?"

When she pointed to the words "Mary cried," directly following the quotation, realization dawned.

"Oh," I said, "That's just a manner of speaking. It means "said." Sometimes writers use "cried" instead of "said." Lame explanation, I said silently to myself, but at the same time, I was relieved to note that the doubt and confusion had evaporated from my student's face.

At the same time, I remembered a piece of advice I have heard from many writers. Using said instead of fancier variations is a painless way of cleaning up prose. Not to mention making it more accessible to the legions of souls who grapple with English as a second or third language. After all, literature is universal. There is no reason why ESL learners should not be interested in tackling any writer's tales.

When we discuss literature in class, I tell my students that fiction has themes, not morals. But perhaps this little anecdote does have a moral: "said" says is a clearer dialogue tag than "cried" or "exclaimed." And in written communication, clarity is essential.