Ellipsis in English Literature : Signs of Omission

Anne Toner Provides An Original Account Of The History Of Ellipsis Marks - Dots, Dashes And Asterisks - In English Literary Writing. Highlighting Ever-renewing Interest In These Forms Of Non-completion In Literature, Toner Demonstrates How Writers Have Striven To Get Closer To The Hesitancies And Interruptions Of Spoken Language, The Indeterminacies Of Thought, And The Successive Or Fragmented Nature Of Experience By Means Of These Textual Symbols. While Such Punctuation Marks May Seem Routine Today, This Book Describes Their Emergence In Early Modern Drama And Examines The Relationship Between Authors, Printers And Grammarians In Advancing Or Obstructing The Standardisation Of The Marks. Their Development Is Explored Through Close Study Of The Works Of Major English Writers, Including Jonson, Shakespeare, Richardson, Sterne, Meredith And Woolf, Along With Visual Illustrations Of Their Usage. In Particular, Toner Traces The Evolution Of Ellipsis Marks In The Novel, A Form Highly Receptive To Elliptical Punctuation-- Machine Generated Contents Note: Introduction: Observing The Ellipsis; 1. Ellipsis Marks In Early Printed Drama; 2. Chasms And The Eighteenth-century Novel; 3. Ellipsis And The Ends Of Novels; 4. Nineteenth-century 'explorations In Dot-and-dashland'; 5. Ellipsis And Modernity. Anne Toner. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. "Anne Toner provides an original account of the history of ellipsis marks - dots, dashes and asterisks - in English literary writing. Highlighting ever-renewing interest in these forms of non-completion in literature, Toner demonstrates how writers have striven to get closer to the hesitancies and interruptions of spoken language, the indeterminacies of thought, and the successive or fragmented nature of experience by means of these textual symbols. While such punctuation marks may seem routine today, this book describes their emergence in early modern drama and examines the relationship between authors, printers and grammarians in advancing or obstructing the standardisation of the marks. Their development is explored through close study of the works of major English writers, including Jonson, Shakespeare, Richardson, Sterne, Meredith and Woolf, along with visual illustrations of their usage. In particular, Toner traces the evolution of ellipsis marks in the novel, a form highly receptive to elliptical punctuation."-- Provided by publisher Title page 4 Copyright 5 Table of contents 6 List of illustrations 7 Acknowledgements 10 Introduction: observing the ellipsis 12 1 Ellipsis marks in early printed drama 36 2 Chasms and the eighteenth-century novel 65 3 Ellipsis and the ends of novels 98 4 Nineteenth-century ‘explorations in Dot-and-Dashland’ 129 5 Ellipsis and modernity 162 Notes 182 Bibliography 229 Index 262 Anne Toner examines how ellipsis marks - dots, dashes and asterisks - are so often fundamental to literary meaning. Her unique study traces their development from the sixteenth century to the present day, featuring the work of major English writers, including Jonson, Shakespeare, Richardson, Sterne, Meredith and Woolf. A history of ellipsis marks and their functions in major works of English literature over the past 500 years