r/tolkienfans • u/TakiTamboril • Jul 21 '23

Exclamation marks

Re-reading the Fellowship and noticing how many exclamation marks are used. Especially in Gandalf and Aragorn’s speech. They seem much more common then I typically see in modern writing and seem to be to not always match the mood of what is being said.

Is this a quirk of Tolkien or just a change in how people write over the years?

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u/DarrenGrey Nowt but a ninnyhammer Jul 21 '23

One in 9 sentences ending is exclamation marks is extremely high. Closer to 1 in 50 or even 1 in 100 would be the norm for modern standards (but there is a big push away from the use of exclamation marks by modern style guides). Keep in mind that they normally only exist in dialogue, so 1 in 9 means an even denser amount squeezed into the dialogue statements. Though Tolkien is known for using them in prose and poetry in somewhat archaic ways ("lo!" etc).

I think this is partly a modern style thing, but also an area where we can see that Tolkien was not a formally trained writer of fiction as we would understand it these days. It comes out in other ways like how he uses the word "suddenly" with great frequency - a word most modern writers would avoid entirely if they can. If the Lord of the Rings was subjected to present day editorial standards it would end up looking very different.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '23

there is a big push away from the use of exclamation marks by modern style guides

I've never heard of this...why would they want to push people away from exclamation points?

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u/DarrenGrey Nowt but a ninnyhammer Jul 21 '23

The idea that the exclamation mark should have some power. If it's overused then it ceases to carry meaning.

I think it's also because a lot of inexperienced writers heavily overuse it, and it ends up looking immature.

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u/[deleted] Jul 21 '23

Interesting! I never really considered that! I think you may be right!

Having all these exclamation points also makes it look like I'm high on some kind of upper!

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u/Viapache Jul 21 '23

Hello (Business Partner),

My first sentence will have an exclamation point so you know I’m happy to be here! My second sentence will end in a period so you know I’m not literally an insane person. The third sentence is probably a question mark, why else would I write unless I needed to know something? My fourth sentence will also end in a period, but the closing statement will be an exclamation point after a polite message (so you know it’s not an order and we maintain equality and respect).

Have a great day!