Semicolon : the past, present, and future of a misunderstood mark
by Watson, Cecelia (Author)
Print Book
Availability
Loading...
Summary
A page-turning, existential romp through the life and times of the world's most polarizing punctuation mark. The semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Shou... Full description
Table of Contents:
- Introduction: love, hate, and semicolons
- Deep history: the birth of the semicolon
- The science of semicolons: American grammar wars
- Sexy semicolons
- Loose women and liquor laws: the semicolon wreaks havoc in Boston
- The minutiae of mercy
- Carving semicolons in stone
- Semicolon savants
- Persuasion and pretension: are semicolons for snobs?
- Conclusion: against the rules?.