: Re: When is passive voice acceptable? I am working on a fiction novel and have had difficulties with the passive voice. I feel that in this case the sentence is stronger when the passive voice

@Martha805

Rarely, but this is not really passive voice

As Lauren points out, what you have is not really passive voice.

Your sentence is:

Born in a land without justice, sodden with the blood and tears of earlier generations

Written in full with the subject in place, this might be:

Dave was Born in a land without justice, sodden with the blood and tears of earlier generations

In passive voice, you would have:

A land without justice, sodden with the blood and tears of earlier generations was the place of Dave's birth.

Your sentence is active voice, but you've omitted the subject to make it more punchy.

...but to answer your question

When is passive voice acceptable? If you are writing an academic paper, passive voice is de rigueur. It weakens your statements, enabling counter-argument. If you're writing a novel this is usually not the effect you are going for. It's uncommon to find a case where the passive voice is an improvement.

An exception to this might be dialog if you have a scientific character, or a character who talks in riddles.

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: Re: When is passive voice acceptable? I am working on a fiction novel and have had difficulties with the passive voice. I feel that in this case the sentence is stronger when the passive voice

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