Punctuation as an Art Form

Punctuation as an Art Form

We all indulge in a bit of flair now and then, and this typical human behavior is not exempt in literature. In the so-far relatively short time I’ve explored the realm of poetry, I’ve encountered such poems that incorporate the literal visual as much as depth in content. Old poets (extinct ones) as much as new (not so very extinct ones) take liberties with line indentations, unorthodox text arrangements, italics and bold fonts (not to mention weird and varying fonts) in their works.

Observe:

 

Carry… 
                Me… 
                            Away… 
                                             And let us …
                                                                       Fly ~ 
                                              And Bathe, 
                                 In Colors, 
                     Of Wild,
burning Sky!

In this cinquain poem, for instance:

::: A (Heartfelt) Eulogy :::

~ David ~
…He was a jerk…
This guy ran a [sweatshop],
an –*sshole– to the end. Rest not
+ in peace +

P. Pepper: Hey, Abernaith, not all of those silly bits you put in your poem are punctuation marks. They’re actually typographical symbols.

Abernaith: Why, yes they are. The Tilde (~), The Asterisk (*), and the Plus Sign (+) are some of the more popular glyphs used in the internet. The Asterisk, in particular, has become notorious as a Censor Symbol for “bunny-esque words”. They’re all intended to be ornamental in the first place, so don’t be minding them too much. Still, don’t you think that whoever wrote that poor excuse of a poem was overdoing it on the decorations?

P. Pepper: But I thought you wrote this. Well, didn’t you?

Abernaith: Pep, sometimes you can be so dense. I was just trying to make a Point here, with this example. Look at the colons, the ellipses, that bracket… Don’t you think they’re being abused in there?

P. Pepper: Oh, you mean like they’re being overworked, just like kids in sweatshops. Is that it?

Abernaith: Whatever, Pep. Whatever. *rolls eyes* Take a look at this, then. It’s the poem, without all those junk hanging off its edges:

A (Heartfelt) Eulogy

David
He was a jerk.
This guy ran a sweatshop,
an *sshole to the end. Rest not
in peace.

Abernaith: Well? What do you think now?

P. Pepper: It’s neater, at the very least. And if you really want to know, I don’t think it’s such a sore-eye anymore. It’s actually a bit more bitter now, gritty even. I didn’t feel that with all the jewelry dangling from the words before.

Abernaith: So do you get it now?

P. Pepper: Get? If you mean that your poem Really Sucks, then I guess I get it perfectly.

Abernaith: Well, for your—

P. Pepper: The one with all the text ornaments Sucked A Real Lot More, is what.

Abernaith: Hmm. I guess you’re not completely hopeless, Pep.

I sure wish people would reconsider the use of punctuation as merely ornamental. Not that I’m saying people who use “ornamental punctuation” don’t know how to use punctuation properly as well. The example above may well be considered “extreme”, but I don’t deny that I shed much grief over stuff I read, esp. online, that I consider “even more extreme”.

Seriously, I draw the line at signatures. Sure, people have every right to take liberties with designing text, but wouldn’t “design” in itself be considered frivolous and superficial? I don’t see it as necessary, except if it’s art, where things don’t have to be necessary at all. But let me ask you this, would you, upon looking at a piece attempting to be called “literature” which is lavishly peppered with “ornamental text”, be saying, “Oh! What wonderful art! It is simply fabulouso et fantastico!” Well, maybe not exactly that. But for goodness’ sake, you’ve got to admit that you think it’s Highly Overdone.

Writers have just got to learn to be more sensitive about the things they write. Not only in the traditional sense of content, but also in the literal visual sense. You don’t want to cover up words with frilly designs and weigh them down with unnecessary decorations. If you’ve got to put decorations, then let it be for the unselfish reason that You Are Making (Pleasant-to-the-Eye) Visual Art. And if you don’t know how to do that, then I strongly suggest you don’t overburden yourself with “designing” text at all. You’ve got to realize this, please.