This passage in which Elinor describes the qualities of Edward Ferrars illustrates the fine line that Jane Austen walks between Neo-classicism and Romanticism. Her subject to whom much emotion is devoted is an archetypal Romantic subject, yet Austen's syntax, choice of words and manner in which it is written embraces the Neo-classical method of writing.

The Neoclassical movement embodied a group of attitudes toward art and human existence--ideals of order, logic, restraint, correctness, decorum, and so on, which would enable the practitioners of various arts to imitate or reproduce the structures and themes of Greek or Roman origin. Neoclassicism dominated English literature from the Restoration in 1660 until the end of the eighteenth century, when the publication of Lyrical Ballads (1798) by Wordsworth and Coleridge marked the full emergence of Romanticism. Up to a point, Neoclassicism rejected the views of optimism, enthusiasm and exuberance of the Renaissance. Neoclassicism also represented a reaction the

At a time when these movements were merging into each other, Jane Austen was deep into writing her novels being influenced by both these movements as well as Augustanism; characteristic of the literary period noted for refinement in the eighteenth century; and Anti-Romanticism which had to do with the rejection of emotive language and idealism but the encouragement or order, discipline and constraint. Although Austen wrote in the first half of the nineteenth century, ' she does not indulge in wide panoramas, or in the sentimental or passionate tales' , that was customary with writers of her time. She is compared more closely to the novelists of the eighteenth century whose beliefs said that stories should be accompanied by morals and the world was meant to be an impartial, rational place where the mind should preside over the heart. Her classicism arises from respect for the sane, clear-sighted judgement of the Augustan age that preceded her, but her vitality is enhanced by the romanticism of her own period. This is clearly illustrated by Elinor's reaction to Marianne's dilemma with Willoughby, "Much as you suffer now, think of what you would have suffered if the discovery of his character had been delayed to a later period-"

A feature commonly noted in Jane Austen's style is that of rhetorical balance. The constant use of balanced sentences and paragraphs helps to maintain the concept that logic and order are necessary and important values.

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1486
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)