An Admirable Point

This is a new book. Condition: Brand New.

Few punctuation marks elicit quite as much love or hate as the exclamation mark. It's bubbly and exuberant, an emotional amplifier whose flamboyantly dramatic gesture lets the reader know: here be feelings! Scott Fitzgerald famously stated exclamation marks are like laughing at your own joke; Terry Pratchett had a character say that multiple !!! are a 'sure sign of a diseased mind'. So what's the deal with ! ?

An Admirable Point recuperates the exclamation mark from its much maligned place at the bottom of the punctuation hierarchy. It explores how ! came about in the first place some six hundred years ago, and uncovers the many ways in which ! has left its mark on art, literature, (pop) culture, and just about any sphere of human activity - from Beowulf to spam emails, ee cummings to neuroscience.

Whether you think it's over-used, or enthusiastically sprinkle your writing with it, ! is inescapable.

Book details and technical specifications

Format: Hardback
ISBN13: 9781800811973
Published: November 2022

Number of pages: 176
Width: 136 mm
Height: 202 mm
Depth: 20 mm

Publisher: Profile Books Ltd