Punctuation and the Devil

It should relieve many who are afraid of or who haven't a care for punctuation that its rules are not absolute. After all, respected writers work craftily with punctuation while providing readers fresh experiences. At the very least, punctuation creates pace and rhythm. None of us appreciate monotony. From a Timothy Rutten book review of a Paul Auster novel, Travels in the Scriptorium: "...the earliest manuscripts produced by the scriptoria contained no formal punctuation." A Scriptorium was a place in medieval times where copyists duplicated the works of others. Working alone in their chambers copyists could supply their own changes in the text in creative ways. "Authors and their copyists simply presumed the existence of an artful reader who would supply...(the) interpretive essentials...." How did punctuation arise? The church desired a "single, orthodox reading of sacred texts," and copyists became suspect. "Satan," Peter the Lombard proclaimed, "was the first grammarian." Thus, the beginning of prescriptive grammar?

I do not urge name calling of those who work knowledgeably with the rules of punctuation. It is not a Satanic endeavor. I, myself am a laborer in the vineyard attempting to teach and explain grammar and its functions, including punctuation.

I caution young writers to play by the rules. Though the rules are arbitrary, those who arbitrated them came to an understanding of keeping most readers on track. I also say, the more practiced the reader, the more artful the writer may be. It works both ways.

Subscribe to Sentenceparts How's your English today?