In Honor of National Poetry Month

She read the poem for the seventh time. There was not one trace of a metaphor, not any symbolism, nothing she could use for her critical analysis at all. She searched in vain for a simile, any kind of imagery that could be used to explicate the poet’s work. Nothing. Zip. Nada. Zero. Even the tempo was weird, more like just talking rather than writing carefully chosen words.

She felt like throwing the book across the room and screaming about the total lack of fairness in the universe. Her composition was due the next day, and what could she say about poetic devices when there were none to be found?

That’s when the idea came: the poet had spoken straightforwardly, not relying on known poetic devices. She thought to herself, “An angle for her paper? Yes!”

She could write about what wasn’t there - any form of artifice - and the effect on the reader of plain speaking. The poet’s voice imparted meaning without relying on the traditionally accepted forms of his predecessors. It might not be the same take on the poem that the rest of the class would derive from his work, but she decided she could discuss the absence of metaphor, simile, etc., logically and turn in a good explication, her own interpretation of the poet’s strange poem.

She began to think: “Hmmmm…my working thesis might go something like ‘Bobo Bardwords’ minimalist poetry evokes a common-sense approach to questions of life and death through the absence of poetic artifice in his terse language, a language reminiscent of ordinary speech.’”

OK…now to start writing.

Roxy’s tip: Enjoy poetry this April, National Poetry Month!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

Missing

Think about run on sentences this way they are missing essential punctuation the reader does not have a way to tell where one sentence ends and another begins even though with some careful attention he might be able to fill in the blanks and know what the writer means to say without the help of periods and capital letters punctuation functions as a stopping and starting point and as a way to let the reader know how to separate one thought from the next.

The paragraph above is a major run on. It consists of several sentences without punctuation to separate them and, thereby, guide the reader through the jumble. Even if it is not particularly difficult to understand, it is probably extremely annoying to most readers.

Good punctuation, punctuation that is aligned with the rules of grammar and context and meaning, can be virtually invisible to the reader because it is unobtrusive. No one will do a double take if end punctuation appears when the sentence ends. Most people won’t say, “Oh, yes, look at that lovely dot.”

The absence of punctuation, on the other hand, is decidedly conspicuous to the reader and might lead to remarks that are not exactly complimentary. The logic of sentences depends on punctuation marks, small bits that we don’t notice when they are where they are supposed to be but do note when they are missing.

Think about run on sentences this way: they are missing essential punctuation. The reader does not have a way to tell where one sentence ends and another begins, even though with some careful attention he might be able to fill in the blanks and know what the writer means to say without the help of periods and capital letters. Punctuation functions as a stopping and starting point and as a way to let the reader know how to separate one thought from the next.

Roxy’s tip: Use punctuation appropriately to avoid run ons.

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!

The Case of Comma Confetti

Here a comma, there a comma, everywhere a comma, and does it matter where they land on my page? Am I supposed to put a comma here or there or anywhere? Why would I? What is the use of the small dot with a tail?

“When it doubt, leave it out,” the high school English teacher said. Perhaps instead of doubt, I should find the rules and figure out exactly why or why not when it comes to putting commas in my writing or leaving them out.

The SWC handout (Commas – available on line - hard copies available in Room 104, Stone Writing Center) lists comma rules and regulations, the proper time and place for the peculiar punctuation. Anyone afflicted with a bit of confusion about the rules could print out the list, check off the rules he knows that he knows, and ponder the meaning of the rules that confuse him.

Punctuation is somewhat like the language of math. Commas, semi-colons, periods, question marks, etc., function much like plus signs or minus signs or equals signs. They clarify or define the equation.

There is a certain precision in the proper use of commas, a reason to apply them on set occasions. Even though each writer has a novel way of expressing his thoughts, the same rules apply and can make or break a paper at times. The best way to learn rules, if they don’t automatically click in your mind, is by rote, by repetition. Keep reading the rules that you know you don’t know over and over again until the moment comes when, “Aha, I see it now!” appears. And it will.

Then the sprinkling of small dots with tails will end. Instead, the pages you write will be enhanced by deliberately placed punctuation, punctuation marks used for actual reasons. The case of comma confetti will be closed by those who master the rules, those who know why a comma should be left in or out, without a doubt.

Roxy’s tip: Learn the comma rules!

See you next time the breeze is cool, the sun is up, and the waves roll into view! My next entry is coming soon. ‘Til then, hang ten!