Commas Quote by Lynne Truss
““As with other paired bracketing devices (such as parentheses, dashes and quotation marks), there is actual mental cruelty involved , incidentally, in opening up a pair of commas and then neglecting to deliver the closing one. The reader hears the first shoe drop and then strains in agony to hear the second. In dramatic terms, it's like putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I and then having the heroine drown herself quietly offstage in the bath during the interval. It's just not cricket.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss, 2003
Leaving a comma unclosed creates mental tension, similar to an unfinished dramatic cue, causing reader discomfort.
In simple terms: Unclosed punctuation unsettles readers.
Key Takeaway
Close punctuation properly.
Themes
grammar
punctuation
reading experience
literary style
communication
Mood
irustr
analytical
Type
literary
instructional
When to use this quote
- editing
- writing
- publishing
- public speaking
- literary criticism
Key Concepts
syntax
cognitive tension
reader expectation
Questions to Reflect On
- How does punctuation affect narrative flow?
- Can you spot other unclosed pairs in text?
A Different Perspective
If the surrounding sentence is weak, the impact may be minimal.
![“Brackets come in various shapes, types and names: 1 round brackets (which we call brackets, and the Americans call parentheses) 2 square brackets [which we call square brackets, and the Americans call brackets]” quote by Lynne Truss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b33/lynne-truss-4153_names_brackets-come-in-various-shapes-types-an_222507.jpg)
