the line break IS the punctuation
80.95%
• 17 votes •
yea
19.05%
• 4 votes •
nay
the line break IS the punctuation
Anonymous
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I disagree. If there is not punctuation, then the ideas get jumbled. Kind of like a run on sentence. Sure, a line break can give the reader a pause from reading. But the ideas/word pictures/metaphors/etc all run together.
Plus a line break doesn’t give us any clues about whether the line is a question or statement. It doesn’t indicate excitement/anger/general loudness the way an exclamation mark would.
Plus a line break doesn’t give us any clues about whether the line is a question or statement. It doesn’t indicate excitement/anger/general loudness the way an exclamation mark would.
Anonymous
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I do not prefer hard rules and guidelines. I prefer readability, I guess. Believe me, I’m not a grammar enforcer on others, or myself. But, in my opinion, everything is easier to read with a bit of punctuation.
I use line breaks to provide emphasis in my stanzas. Just because I hit enter does not mean that thought/sentence is over. It means I want specific words to stand on their own, within the though/sentence.
I use line breaks to provide emphasis in my stanzas. Just because I hit enter does not mean that thought/sentence is over. It means I want specific words to stand on their own, within the though/sentence.
Anonymous
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Hullo, Daisy
I dunno if anyone was suggesting a line-break could be any punctuation mark. certainly it can do the job of a comma and full stop. and can work in tandem with other non-punctuation punctuation like stanza breaks, double/ triple spaces between words, and all that jazz
So, essentially even without punctuation there is punctuation. -in a non punctuate kinda way-
I dunno if anyone was suggesting a line-break could be any punctuation mark. certainly it can do the job of a comma and full stop. and can work in tandem with other non-punctuation punctuation like stanza breaks, double/ triple spaces between words, and all that jazz
So, essentially even without punctuation there is punctuation. -in a non punctuate kinda way-
Anonymous
I have to say I’m with Grin on this one. The line break is also punctuation. I’ve been doing this for years.
Are there any universally recognized guidelines for punctuation in poetry? I too was mildly criticized for not using enough punctuation and now I want to know what is standard practice...if that exists. One of my issues with criticism is I am never sure of the credentials of the critic. Do they possess higher knowledge of meter, structure, grammar, punctuation etc. and is that knowledge based on education or experience only...which, by the way, I don't see as a bad thing. I do not doubt the talent of our more seasoned poets but I would like to know the basis for their instruction. Having worked in law for so many years, as a computer guy not lawyer, I have become accustomed to best practices. Where are they found in poetry?
Gahddess_Worship said:Are there any universally recognized guidelines for punctuation in poetry? I too was mildly criticized for not using enough punctuation and now I want to know what is standard practice...if that exists. One of my issue with criticism is I am never sure of the credentials of the critic. Do they posses higher knowledge of meter, structure, grammar, punctuation etc. and is that knowledge based on education of merely experience. I do not doubt the talent of our more seasoned poets but I would like to know the basis for their instruction.
Have you asked them? Do they cite grammar rules? Do they provide links that can assist you learn? Or do you request any of the above?
I will say that self-education isn't to be frowned upon, look at some of the greatest poets who had no college education: Ray Bradbury, Maya Angelou, Truman Capote, Mark Twain, H. G. Wells, Jack London, Augusten Burroughs, Charles Dickens, and so on. . .
Have you asked them? Do they cite grammar rules? Do they provide links that can assist you learn? Or do you request any of the above?
I will say that self-education isn't to be frowned upon, look at some of the greatest poets who had no college education: Ray Bradbury, Maya Angelou, Truman Capote, Mark Twain, H. G. Wells, Jack London, Augusten Burroughs, Charles Dickens, and so on. . .
I agree in re: those greats you have mentioned. But it can also be said that they followed the beat of their own drummer with regard to conventions of poetry. A fact, I believe that lends to the beauty and power of their work. They are/were authentic, true to themselves.
I have not been seriously critiqued enough to ask for credentials.
I have not been seriously critiqued enough to ask for credentials.
Gahddess_Worship said:I agree in re: those greats you have mentioned. But it can also be said that they followed the beat of their own drummer with regard to conventions of poetry. A fact, I believe that lends to the beauty and power of their work. They are/were authentic, true to themselves.
I have not been seriously critiqued enough to ask for credentials.
Then join HCC and submit ( if critique is what you want ).
I have not been seriously critiqued enough to ask for credentials.
Then join HCC and submit ( if critique is what you want ).
I would say all rules :
1. Are made to be broken
2. Are dysfunctional attempts at mind programming ,
rigid gestapo like tactics for demanding obedience ,
often determined by those having a pre - disposition
to anal retentiveness , and influenced by academic criteria
passed down from one anal retentive to others , over the
period of many years , if not the ages
3. Example ( my poetry ) :
Linguistic Abuse:
Elucidating Elequoessentially
Can Be Most Challenging Mentally ,
Yet In The Word Itself May Be Heard
Half Buried And Half Interred ,
A Sense Of Scent Of Verbal Abuse
A Linguistic Madman Breaking Loose
From Norms Of Language Rearranged
Thought Out Of Box And Bars Of The Cage
Set Upon A Stagnant Lettered Populace
A Tongue Twisting Masked Fiend Preposterous !
( and that is a tame one...read my rap poems )
4. Please consult James Joyce , before any final statements
5. My Grammar always said : Whatever Works !
1. Are made to be broken
2. Are dysfunctional attempts at mind programming ,
rigid gestapo like tactics for demanding obedience ,
often determined by those having a pre - disposition
to anal retentiveness , and influenced by academic criteria
passed down from one anal retentive to others , over the
period of many years , if not the ages
3. Example ( my poetry ) :
Linguistic Abuse:
Elucidating Elequoessentially
Can Be Most Challenging Mentally ,
Yet In The Word Itself May Be Heard
Half Buried And Half Interred ,
A Sense Of Scent Of Verbal Abuse
A Linguistic Madman Breaking Loose
From Norms Of Language Rearranged
Thought Out Of Box And Bars Of The Cage
Set Upon A Stagnant Lettered Populace
A Tongue Twisting Masked Fiend Preposterous !
( and that is a tame one...read my rap poems )
4. Please consult James Joyce , before any final statements
5. My Grammar always said : Whatever Works !
