"A little horse must think it queer/ To stop without a farmhouse near."
It was my favorite test question in college. My professor asked us to diagram this sentence from a Robert Frost poem. I excitedly scribbled on my paper with a smirk on my face. I could diagram sentences all day.
I was one of those English majors that embarrassed myself in Imaginative Writing (just ask Becky Ness) and struggled through Modern Fiction (although, I dare say, I'd do a lot better in this class today). But there was one class where I felt like the star pupil-- one class where I was disappointed if I received anything less than a 98% on a test. It was the reason I wanted to be an English teacher: Linguistics and Grammar.
I read a Newsweek column this morning entitled "The Sad Fate of the Comma." It started me thinking about my writing. The author states, "But the comma's sad fate is, I think, a metaphor for something larger: how we deal with the frantic, can't-wait-a-minute nature of modern life...The comma is a small victim of our hustle-bustle."
I'm guilty of this. I succumb to the pressures of quick emails or quick blogs. I forgive myself for writing in the passive voice, misplacing a comma, or overusing the elipses because I have too many things to do and not enough time to do it all.
The comma is sacrificed. My commas are sacrificed.
What is this world coming to?
6 comments:
Hi Honey,
It only takes an extra 2 or 3 seconds to put the commas in their proper place.
And this, coming from one who majored in English.
I still love reading your "blogs."
Love, Grandma.
Oh my! It will be okay Traci! This really brought me back to Taylor days and you editing all of our papers. How funny though.
I must not be like the rest of the world, I always feel like I overuse the comma! However, it's probably wrong most of the time!
I like the saying "Don't place a period where God has placed a comma."
I LOVED Linguistics and Grammar, too. There is something so satisfying about diagramming a sentence; I completely understand how you feel. It's like putting all your ducks in a row.
Ashley
ummm, what?
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