Puncturing punctuation in poetry

Some poets, including Pulitzer prized ones, believe punctuation weighs down a poem, while others overdo a good thing with a comma at the end of every line whether or not it’s needed.

Recently, though, I’ve noticed inconsistent (dare I say “erratic”) use of punctuation, for instance, when a poet omits it entirely, line after line, then suddenly adds a period at the end of a verse, giving the TA-DA flourish of a finale.

Since a number of poets seem to be doing similar gyrations with punctuation or its lack thereof, I suppose this could be a trend (albeit a generally ineffectual one.) More likely, I fear, Grammar School (yes, that grammar) is as passé as its namesake.

In case that’s sadly true, some of you might have opted for the no-punctuation-poem out of desperation, rather than artistic license. So, in hopes of helping you to find grammatical help on the spot as needed, I’ve been looking at English grammar websites and found two I especially like. If you know of others you recommend, let me know, and I’ll add those hotlinks, too, to the Resourses page of my blog.

Another option is to get acquainted with the impressive editorial features on Microsoft Word (or similar word processing software) that quickly check for errors in grammar, syntax, spelling, and punctuation then let you know how to correct such problems before your work sees print.

Why bother? As you’ve probably heard me say more than once:

• Punctuation guides your readers in reading your poem as you intended.

• Conversely, punctuating a poem in a weird way can punctuate imperfections, show snags in syntax (sentence structure), and baffle your readers.

With punctuation used as the traffic signals in your poems, however, your readers will be more apt to slow down with each comma and pause at each period, which just might help them to stop, look, and listen to what you and your poem have to say.

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© 2012, Mary Sayler

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Punctuate your poetry

Unless you have a particular reason for changing rules in written English, plain old punctuation will clarify your meaning and guide readers into comprehending what they read. This especially relieves readers who think they “don’t get” poetry. Besides, if your poems make them feel smart, understood, remembered, and acknowledged, they’ll be apt to read your work again and maybe buy your book!

We’ve talked about punctuation before but never discussed the meaning of the word, which, according to one of Webster’s tomes, tells us that punctuate stems from the Latin word punctus, which translates as point.

You can make a point with punctuation for emphasis.

You can interrupt a flow of words, for instance, when a political speech is punctuated with cheers or jeers.

You can regulate the pacing of your poem with timely use of punctual punctuation (pun intended.)

As you and your readers read a poem aloud, punctuation marks carry you along from line to line with occasional pauses, stops, rests, or points of acceleration. Since the thought of flowing traffic makes a good comparison, here’s a quick overview of punctuation options:

Comma, caution light to slow reading without a full stop

Colon: intersection to stop and look for what’s coming

Dash – pedestrian crosswalk

Period. red light. red light. stop. stop. stop.


© 2012, Mary Sayler

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