197 CHAPTER IV. LETTER, SYLLABIC, AND QUOTATION POINTS. THE points treated of in the two preceding chapters have been classified into two kinds, - 1. The grammatical; and, 2. The grammatical and rhetorical. As previously stated, they are used for the purpose of developing the sense of a composition, by exhibiting the various connections and constructions of words, phrases, and clauses; and of aiding the delivery, by showing the nature of sentences, as affirmative, interrogative, emotional, parenthetic, suspensive, or broken. The marks to be considered in this chapter are These are put into a class different from the others, because, though they serve to bring out the sense and to aid a just delivery, they do not exhibit any analysis of sentences, or point out the relation of their parts to one another, but call the attention merely to letters or syllables, as do the Apostrophe and Hyphen, or to something foreign to the meaning and construction of the passages to which they are prefixed and annexed, as is the case with the Marks of Quotation. The APOSTROPHE ['] is a mark distinguished in appearance from a comma, only in being placed above the line; but its uses are altogether different. RULE I. Elision of Letters, or Shortening of Words. The apostrophe is used, chiefly in poetry and in familiar dialogue, to denote the omission of a letter or of letters. a. A word pronounced in full should not be abbreviated with the apostrophe, except in headings to column-work, where saving of room is necessary, and where the full point at the end would not indicate the word intended. See p. 149, Remark c. b. Though not, strictly speaking, abbreviations, the plurals of mere letters or of Arabic figures are formed by the insertion of an apostrophe before the s; as, "Mark all the a's and o's in your exercise." "In this sum there are four 2's and three 5's." c. It was once a common practice, especially in verse, to write and print tho' and thro', instead of though and through; but these abbreviated forms are now discontinued, for the very just reason that they do not shorten the pronunciation of the words, — the chief object for which abbreviations are used. To prevent, however, the turning of a line in poetry, so as to occupy the space of two, which is offensive to the eye, tho' and thro' may occasionally be thus printed. d. Borough, the termination of some proper names, is not unfrequently contracted into bro or boro, either with or without the addition of an apostrophe; as, Marlbro, Southboro'. If the abbreviation is made, the apostrophe should be used to indicate the omission of the last letters; but, except in lines where room must be saved, it would be much better to write and print all such words in full; as, Marlborough. Edinboro' is a barbarous corruption of Edinburgh, and should never deface a printed page. e. The particle till, being a substitute for until, which is now seldom used, should not be preceded by an apostrophe. f. The mark under notice is erroneously used in the words to, the, heaven, power, every, threatening, and others of a similar nature, when written, as they frequently are in verse, t', th', heav'n, pow'r, ev'ry, threat'ning, &c.; for, though apparently, in the full or unelided form, making a syllable additional to the number of the feet required by the verse, they are never pronounced differently from the same words in prose, nor does this pronunciation at all affect the rhythm. Indeed no elocutionist or poet deserving of the name would read the phrases, "to attain perfection" and "the accomplished sofa," in the following lines, as if written tattain perfection, thaccom plished sofa; though, judging from the mode in which they were originally printed ("t' attain, th' accomplished"), a reader might imagine that this absurd pronunciation was requisite. The verse in which they occur should therefore stand thus: So slow The growth of what is excellent; so hard And Luxury, the accomplished sofa next. g. It seems to have been the practice in former times to pronounce, as an additional syllable, the ed in the imperfect tense of verbs, in past participles, and in participial adjectives; and hence arose the propriety, in poetical works of a bygone age, of omitting the e in words of this sort, and of supplying its place with an apostrophe, when the termination treated of coalesced in pronunciation with the primitive to which d or ed was attached. Now, however, that this syllable is not separately enunciated in prose, except in learned, beloved, cursed, winged, when used as adjectives, and in some instances where a combination of harsh consonants necessarily requires the ed always to be articulated as a syllable; and except also in Sacred Scripture, portions of which should be read in a very solemn manner, the propriety of supplying the place of the e with an apostrophe is exceedingly questionable. In many recent publications, therefore, the mark of elision has been thrown aside in regard to such words, and a grave accent placed on the e in those only which are lengthened for the sake of the rhythm; as will be seen in the following lines: I praised the sun, whose chariot rolled On wheels of amber and of gold; I praised the moon, whose softer eye Gleamed sweetly through the summer sky; And moon and sun in answer said, "Our days of light are numbered.” Some writers, however, prefer to mark the additional syllable by an Ages elapsed ere Homer's lamp appear'd, To carry nature lengths unknown before, To give a Milton birth, ask'd ages more. i. Though but indirectly connected with punctuation, it may be remarked, that some of the past participles, having the termination ed, are in verse frequently written or printed with a t, as in the words blest, drest, dreamt; and this mode of spelling, though not analogical, is by no means unpleasant to the eye. In prose, however, when participles having both terminations occur, it is better to adopt that which is more usual; being, to speak generally, the regular form, ed. ORAL EXERCISES. State the reason given in the Rule for inserting an apostrophe in the words thus marked, and read them both in the elided and the full form: — 'Mid such a heavenly scene as this, death is an empty name. That lesson in my memory I'll treasure up with care. I might have lived, and 'joyed immortal bliss. 'Mongst horrid shapes, and shrieks, and sights unholy. Let me thy voice betimes i'the morning hear. Night stretches forth her leaden sceptre o'er a slumbering world. E'en with the tender tear which nature sheds o'er those we love. Tie up the knocker; say I'm sick, I'm dead. Go to, I'll no more of't: it hath made me mad. If that thou be'st a Roman, take it forth. Or in some hollowed seat, 'gainst which the big waves beat. A mingled air: 'twas sad by fits, by starts 'twas wild. Of herself survey she takes, but 'tween men no difference makes. |