I particularly love the second paragraph of this ode to the semicolon. It's from the
Financial Times (excerpted by
Amygdala):
The semicolon “signals that you’re not
expressing a singular thought”, explains the prolific cultural critic,
Chris Lehmann. “It signals that there’s tension, that there is some
contradictory evidence - and you [have to] sort of trust readers to be
able to deal with that, which most editors don’t and many writers
don’t.” Menand locates this fear of complexity in the idea that
language should do no more than hold up a mirror to the world. “If you
subscribe to linguistic transparency, there’s a bias in favour of
simplicity,” he says.
[...]
It may seem bizarre to read so much into a stop on the page, but the
semicolon is a pause for ambiguity, amusement, complexity, doubt, and
nuance. If writing lacks these “genteel” qualities, can we be all that
surprised if it is either as dull as a computer manual, or as demagogic
as a soapbox on Hyde Park Corner?
