Summary

Woolf begins her talk by announcing that the title is "Craftsmanship," and acknowledging that she is supposed to discuss "the craft of words" (1). She contends, however, that the concept of "craft" when applied to words is fundamentally problematic. Citing the English dictionary, she provides two definitions for the word "craft": the first states that craft is "making useful objects out of solid matter" and the second says craft is "cajolery, cunning, deceit" (1). Woolf argues that words do not subscribe to either of these definitions because they are both not useful and complete representatives of truth. She offers an alternative title to the her talk: "A Ramble round Words" (1). She explains that "when you cut off off the head of a talk it behaves like a hen that has been decapitated. It runs around in a circle till it drops dead – so people say who...