Finding Your Semicolon
The most underrated of all the grammar marks. Its stated purpose is to indicate a pause not a period. Yet, some how it gets overshadowed by the popularity of the comma. Is it the comma’s simplicity that makes it so popular and therefore, easier to use? The grammar lessons I had in school never quite full explained just how pragmatic the semicolon is in the world of punctation. After all, we are taught in life how important it is to make a statement. Yet, before we do, maybe we should take a pause?
Music mood: Rusted Root “lost in a crowd”
Neurally yours,
the semicolon (who else?) xo
One Comment
Alan
A semicolon is a pause suffused with energy. It doesn’t just rest; there’s more coming; phrases that could stand alone participate with one another; meaning unfolds through interplay and exchange; it ends with a breathless full-stop. I like it.