poems with dashes and exclamation points

#POEMS WITH DASHES AND EXCLAMATION POINTS FULL#

In the ensuing years, I have used - perhaps overused - em dashes, thinking of them as a witty, polished writing tool, much like a semicolon. Since I associated JFK with glamor and style, I associated those attributes to em dashes as well. They were new to me, so I tried to figure out why they were used. I was a preteen or young teen reading John Kennedy’s Profiles in Courage and noticed em dashes all over the text. I can still remember the first time I saw an em dash used. To avoid confusion, you should use only one pair of em dashes in a single sentence, and not use them in adjoining sentences unless you are trying to show traits of a scatterbrained or highly distractible character. Smith was climbing the ladder - lightning! - so she quickly descended.) Grammar rules say that if you use one em dash in a sentence, you must use a second to show where the interruption ends, unless the interruption ends the sentence, in which case you use a period. Grammar books say the proper use of the em dash is to show when a thought is interrupted. Proponents say the em dash is embraced because its captures the way people talk - in a breezy, hurried fashion, unconcerned with formalities. Then I must go back and insert spacing before and after the em dash. On my keyboard, for example, to make an em dash I must end one word, double hyphenate, and start another word, all without spacing. The writer is just too lazy, or in too much of a hurry, to choose the correct punctuation, say critics.īut those who embrace the em dash point out that it takes extra work to use it since there is no em dash key on keyboards. It is under fire because it is seen as unspecific punctuation. Here, for example, is a poem of hers showing her use of the em dash.īecause the em dash can mean almost any kind of punctuation you want it to mean, it is both under fire and embraced, depending on your stance. Today’s editors publish the poems as Dickinson wrote them. The editors removed her em dashes, and replaced them with commas, periods and question marks. Some of her original editors tried to repunctuate Dickinson’s poems to make them conform to standard English. If you’ve read the poetry of Emily Dickinson, you’ve seen the em dash used instead of other punctuation. It is called an em because it is the length of the letter “M.” There is also an en dash ( – ), basically a hyphen. Try again by refreshing the page.The dash, or rather the em dash ( - ), is getting lots of press lately.įirst, what is an em dash? It is a double hyphen ( - ) without the space between the two hyphens, and with a space on either side separating it from preceding or subsequent words. Please click the following link to try again - if the issue persists, please don't hesitate to contact us. Want to get down to some writing? Take a look at our Writing Prompts for some inspiration!Īn error has occurred while loading your details. Read more from the Grammar Guru by clicking on the tag below. Instead, a little description or detail can go a long way in writing and can help set up scenes accordingly.

And I can safely say, 90% of the time they aren’t required. Working in fiction, I see a lot of writers misusing ellipsis and exclamation marks. And if you are going to use an exclamation, please only use one. They can be used to good effect in writing if used sparingly, but overuse looks like the writer is trying too hard to make a point. Similar to ellipsis usage, don’t overdo exclamation marks. This type of punctuation is used when signifying surprise, a command or some other form of heightened emotion:Īn interjection – the act of uttering exclamations – is often followed by an exclamation. “Do you like equestrian events such as show-jumping, racing, dressage.

However, if you finish with a question, then use three dots followed by a question mark: When a sentence ends with an ellipsis, always use three dots. The use of ellipsis can also serve as an alternative to “etc.”.įor example, when describing similar items on a list: I like equestrian events such as show-jumping, racing, dressage.

It marks a longer pause than a dash, and can be used to good effect in dialogue: Each dot has a single space between it, and it is commonly used to indicate an omission of words or a pause in thought. The ellipsis, as you can see from above, is a set of three periods or “dots”. but what about three in a row?Īnd when is it acceptable to use an exclamation mark? Not sure? Read on! Going Dotty

#POEMS WITH DASHES AND EXCLAMATION POINTS FULL#

The Grammar Guru knows everyone can use a full stop. You’ve likely seen this overused on the internet: I’m jUST SO While this kind of statement is excessive, there are appropriate ways to. Sign up to our Weekly newsletter Subscribe to our magazine for more great content The exclamation point is a punctuation mark usually used after an interjection or exclamation to indicate strong feelings or high volume, and often marks the end of a sentence.

Poems with dashes and exclamation points