I always thought in most cases em dashes, semi colons etc are optional extras, even in academic writing I rarely used them - they alter the flow and appearance of the texts. Whilst an em dash may look more modern it is actually more disruptive to the eye than a semi colon. I know when reading a dash gives me a much longer stop. I use the one that gives just the right amount of stop to the sentence. Semi colons have their place when they join two related sentences together, without visually disrupting the flow as much as a dash. I very rarely have anywhere in my writing where I need to use either its a stylistic choice to do so. My speech and dramatic training makes me very sensitive to the length of a pause created - . , ; : - ... all have their place in doing that. Someone who speaks RP should pick it up more, than someone with a dialect.
People use semicolons all the time in everyday speech. I recently read a transcribed interview with aged boxer James Toney, who is anything but well-spoken, and the thing was full of semicolons. Listened to the audio and there really wasn't anything else the transcriber coulda put there.
I don't use them much in creative writing, but after this thread was started, I began a story in the style of Poe or Lovecraft. Perhaps time has changed, but I notice Poe used a semicolon and a dash in the same place!
"My speech and dramatic training makes me very sensitive to the length of a pause created - . , ; : - ... all have their place in doing that." Spoken I don't hear difference, subtle or otherwise, in the length of pause with a semicolon or period. Mentally, maybe the semi-colon doesn't disrupt the flow as a period does, though the pause is just the same. Mentally, it's like a California stop at a red light where a period is a fully law abiding. I want to play! I used to be a serial semi-colon user, mostly using it incorrectly, but deploy it far less these days. a) OK b) Maybe c) No d) No (though it would probably be appropriate if colour was replaced with decorations, or, as is, if the second independent clause described the colors of the decorations. e) No d) No. Is "unearthly sweetness" even a sentence? As I see it you have 4-5 semi-colons too many.
In this case, like alot of punctuation issues, I write the sentence and let 'Word' correct it. I put commas in alot of places a semi colon goes. Looking over my work, when there is alot of action, that is when the semi colons pop up.
Probably the wrong way around, then, because semicolons tend to slow the pace. Oh, and letting Word correct your grammar is fine for a beginner, but you should aspire to the stage where you correct Word.
I tend to use them a lot too. I think people in general use them too often, but I still think those who use them the most, including me, still overuse them. I often try different ways to end and/or link sentences when I've written one by trying full stops, commas, colons, semi-colons etc. before I settle on one. When I go back and edit the text later, though, I make sure to substitute every semi-colon that doesn't need to be there, as, in my mind, semi-colons are punctiation marks you use when they work and/or you have to, whereas commas and full stops, and colons to an extent, are punctuation marks you almost always need to follow grammatical rules and have the reader understand you.
This thread has been -ified. No. I do not have an addiction to semi colons. I also avoid the decorative comma. It's a gateway punctuation.
I think I'm missing something. What is that little green guy doing? He has big teeth and very skinny arms? Don't geddit...
The post just prior to mine resurrected this thread from a last activity of Feb of 2011. -ified = zombie-fied. A thread come back from the grave.
I just read an interesting short piece of advice regarding the use of semi-colons that explains the artistic reason for using them. (I'm referring to semi-colons used in place of a period, not to any of its other uses.) A period indicates that a particular sentence has finished its thought. The reader assumes, after any period, that the next sentence will begin another thought. A semi-colon indicates that although you have just finished reading what could be a grammatically completed sentence, there is still more to come before the thought itself is finished. When you see a semi-colon, you automatically assume there is more you need to know before you move on. That's why the two 'sentences' (independent clauses) are linked with a semi-colon. Over-use of semi-colons can be annoying because it means that a fair number of thoughts come in two parts. That repetition will eventually call attention to itself. However, the opposite can also be annoying. If somebody always employs a period when a semi-colon is the better choice, then the reading flow can become choppy. This is because each sentence will be only half a thought; it always takes the next sentence to complete it. People who use commas instead of semi-colons (in the above context) are in grave danger of creating run-on sentences. While it's grammatically okay to substitute a period for a semi-colon, it usually is NOT okay to use a comma instead. Commas separate items in a list, or separate dependent clauses. Generally, they should not be used to separate complete sentences. In my own example above, it would be grammatically correct to write: This is because each sentence will be only half a thought. It always takes the next sentence to complete it. However, it would NOT be a good idea to write: This is because each sentence will be only half a thought, it always takes the next sentence to complete it.
I'm not addicted to semicolons, but I do love them, and I defend them against punctuation bigots who insist they should never be used. I'm a fan of this little article by Lewis Thomas. What he says about punctuation makes a lot of sense to me. Here's his take on the semicolon:
Funny, but in some of your examples I'd go with full colons instead. (Gack. Does that sound too clinical?) My suggestions, in red. Sentence (d) needs work in general, since the part about the candles says nothing about the color of the theme. One would expect it to say No semicolon in (e), since the second clause cannot stand alone. A bog-standard comma will do. Your final example is a very poetic line, and whether it works or not depends on your general style. But I think as it stands it needs a colon. Definitely not a semi. Here's a link to a page on how and when to use semicolons: http://writersrelief.com/blog/2008/03/three-essential-semicolon-rules/ And one that deals with colons and semicolons, both: http://www.gcsu.edu/writingcenter/colonrules.htm Semis are a good tool in any writer's toolbox; the key is using them well.