Finding Your -Ness

When Owen Wilson's character gives his motivational spiel at the end of "You, Me and Dupree," it's difficult not to jump out of your seat and embrace your own "ness," the very quality of being you. But as a suffix in the English language, is "ness" actually giving us more flexibility and freedom of expression (as Dupree would have it), or is it creating redundancy in an already-complicated language?

For instance, what is the difference between "corruptness" and "corruptedness"? Can "corruption" be used in either one's place? What about "peace" and "peacefulness"? When they're used to describe a state of mind, are they just two different ways of saying the same thing? And if we can talk about "squareness" meaning the quality of being square or uninteresting, why can't we use "circleness" to describe the quality of being circular or roundabout? After all, it would be so much more concise to say "circleness" than "like a circle."

From a strictly literary (i.e., non-grammatical) point of view, perhaps this seeming redundancy has been introduced into the language as a matter of necessity. For masters of prose, it's a way to add color and variation to writing -- after all, who likes boring repetition? And for poets, the one-syllable difference between "corruptness" and "corruptedness" may very well make or break a potential masterpiece in iambic pentameter.

My point is that we often take liberties with language to give expression to new concepts, or simply to capture very specific ideas or emotions that are difficult to convey. But who decides where to draw the line? More importantly, where should that line be? I suppose the answers to these questions can change as language evolves through the years. Perhaps in the meantime, I'll just work on embracing my Shivnitness.