Semicolons: A Love Story
July 3, 2012
“Vonnegut’s dismissal of semicolons therefore struck me as more than a mere matter of style. This was, like his refusal to describe his war experience in heroic terms, a demonstration of virtue. To abjure semicolons was to declare oneself pure of heart, steely-eyed, sadly disillusioned. I pictured Vonnegut and Hemingway sitting together on a porch, squinting grimly out at the road, shaking their heads at what the literary world had come to. I wanted nothing more in life than to climb onto one of the empty rockers beside them.”
Excerpt of an article written by BEN DOLNICK, at The Opinionator. Continue HERE
Similar: The Most Comma Mistakes
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Vonnegut wrote that when people use semicolons it only proves they went to college. When I use them, it proves I taught middle school English. Ehem: Technically, semicolons separate two related independent clauses (simple sentences) to create a compound sentence. Independent clauses can also be combined with a comma and a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, BUT, or, yet, so) to create a compound sentence. I love your depiction of Vonnegut; his posture speaks volumes. I also like that you added arms to the semicolon. It’s so upset!