Publish and Be Damned

Originally used by the Greeks as a question mark, the modern semicolon had its birth with the Venetian printer and publisher Aldus Manutius in the 15th Century. He used it in typesetting to separate words of opposed meaning, and to indicate interdependent statements.

For about two centuries, semicolons were used almost interchangeably with commas and colons. Ben Johnson was the first English writer to use it systematically, and by the 18th century, its usage became relatively proscribed.

In the last fifty years, this noble piece of punctuation has been begun to disappear. The fashion for journalistic writing with its short, snappy sentences and a lack of understanding of the basic structure of sentences have meant that both writers and editors have used them less and less.

This, I think, is sad. It’s not like we have that many punctuation marks anyway. I’ve always felt that we needed a whole lot more to precisely reproduce the subtle cadences of the spoken word in writing. Furthermore, the gentle relationships of association and meaning that can be forged with a semicolon cannot be accomplished with any other punctuation mark.

The prospect of its imminent demise gets me steamed, and, if you’re a writer who loves language, it should make you mad, too. Because what we are seeing is the overall tone of our language devolving into a staccato stream of arrogant, pugnacious sound bites.

So please don’t eschew the elegant and persuasive semicolon. It is not hard to learn how to use one, and you will find that your sentences take on a progressive fluidity of meaning they never enjoyed before.

Here, quickly, are the three ways to use a semicolon:

1. Between idea-related independent clauses, which are not joined with a coordinating conjunction

Basically, in plain English, you can join two sentences that deal with the same idea without the violent stoppage of a period, or having to use an and, but or or.

I had a maddening desire to fuck her mouth; she had the kind of lips that would look perfect around the base of a cock.

Instead of:

I had a maddening desire to fuck her mouth because she had the kind of lips that would look perfect… (Grammatically correct but wordy!)

or

I had a maddening desire to fuck her mouth. She had the kind of lips that would look perfect… (The hard period has lost you the lovely train of relation between the first and second statements.)

2. Between two independent clauses linked with a transitional phrase or a conjunctive adverb

Have you ever tried to figure out how to punctuate however, besides, therefore or even so in the middle of a sentence? These are conjunctive adverbs; we use them often in everyday speech. They’re a major pain in the ass to punctuate, and this is where the semicolon will save your butt.

I don’t enjoy being fucked up the ass; however, I love being the penetrator.

She adored being spanked; even so, the blows he delivered were almost unbearable.

If you didn’t use the semicolon in this sentence, you’d either have to use a comma, (which would make the sentence confusing) or a period (which would, again, mean you’d lose the fluid relationship between the two clauses.

3. Between items in a series or listing containing internal punctuation.

These are my favorite colors: hot reds, which are sexy and vibrant; electric blues, which remind me of the Caribbean Sea; and lush, verdant greens.

If you didn’t have a semicolon to use, this sentence would start to look like an algebraic equation:

These are my favorite colors: hot reds (which are sexy and vibrant), electric blues (which remind me of the Caribbean Sea) and lush, verdant greens.

Other practical examples of this sort of usage is a list of cities and countries or proper names and titles:

On my tour of Europe I visited: Paris, France; Venice, Italy; Frankfurt, Germany; and London, England.

All my relatives were in attendance: my brother Greg, the doctor; my great aunt Sydney, the manic depressive; her daughter, Violet; and a cousin I’d never met before.

So, might I persuade you to give semicolons a try? They are one of the most ethereal elements of punctuation in the English language and thoroughly deserve your patronage.

Links:

There is a brilliant online visual guide to using semicolons at The Oatmeal: How to use a semicolon.

Also, on Slate.com, Paul Collins has a wonderful article on what is happening to the semicolon these days: “Has modern life killed the semicolon?“

March 15th, 2010 | Remittance Girl | Tips & Tricks | 8 Comments »