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5
Grammar, Punctuation,
and Capitalization

Summary

As conscientious users of language, poets cherish the clarities
that grammar, punctuation, and capitalization promote. Poets
are perfectly willing, however, to flout prescribed usages if it is
necessary to the artistic success of the poem. If a poet is being un-
grammatical or ignoring standard punctuation or is not using
capital letters where capital letters seem to be called for, it is safe
to say that the poet has a good reason for doing what she or he is
doing. Notions of correct usage emphasize comprehension and
poems want to be comprehended but that comprehension must
occur on the poems' own terms.

More than one student while reading passages from John Milton's
long poem Samson Agonistes has asked us more or less facetiously in
what language the poem is written. These students have pointed out
that if they handed in sentences such as Milton's, there would be red
correction marks all over their papers. Here is a by no means atypical
sentence from that poem in which Samson is recounting some of his
exploits:

That fault I take not on me, but transfer
On Israel's Governours, and Heads of Tribes,
Who seeing those great acts which God had done
Singly by me against their Conquerors

-79-

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Publication Information: Book Title: Teaching the Art of Poetry: The Moves. Contributors: Baron Wormser - author, David Cappella - author. Publisher: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Place of Publication: Mahwah, NJ. Publication Year: 2000. Page Number: 79.
    
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