Karl,
If grammar is about how words relate to each other, the grammar of poetry is more all-embracing than the grammar of prose: The first line, without a comma, "so" could refer back to "dream," as in "remembering it as a dream." This implies the intangible, ineffable quality of a dream, which leads directly to the irony at the end. The poet eliminates the comma to expand the poem's meaning. By breaking the rule, the poet respects for the power of convention: The poem works because of this convention, not in spite of it––yet another irony.
Gregg
On Dec 6, 2014, at 4:55 PM, Karl Hagen wrote:
> I think the problem is fundamentally definitional, and we may not all be on the same page with what we mean by “run-on."
>
> One very common understanding of the term is that it refers to a sentence with two or more main (independent) clauses that are not properly joined.
>
> And one common understanding of what constitutes “proper” joining is that you can separate those clauses with a period, a semicolon, or a comma + a conjunction (drawn from the FANBOYS, or FANBOY if you’re old fashioned, list). A FANBOYS word without the comma is not on the approved list of alternatives.
>
> If you accept that definition of a run-on and that list of rules, both of which are very widely taught, the sentence is a run-on, even if it’s rhetorically effective as it is.
>
> If you say no, it’s not a run-on, is that because you use a different punctuation rule? Do you perhaps accept the punctuation rules but have some different term for this pattern (e.g., fused sentence) that you consider to be distinct from the run-on? Or do you have a different understanding of what constitutes a run-on sentence altogether?
>
>
>
>> On Dec 6, 2014, at 11:12 AM, Linda Di Desidero <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>
>> Sounds like the kind of grammar feedback you might get from a machine reader! Definitely not a run-on. :)
>>
>> Linda
>>
>> Linda Di Desidero, PhD
>> Director, Leadership Communication Skills Center
>> Marine Corps University
>> Gray Research Center, Room 122
>> Quantico, Virginia 22134
>> 703-784-4401
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 10:04 PM, John Chorazy <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Vagaries... "two or more independent clauses in the sentence that need a period or semicolon," highlighting "remembering so". I agree that the sentence is formed just fine... just a missing comma before "so" which still doesn't make a run-on.
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 9:31 PM, Dick Veit <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> Even if it were a run-on, it's a poem! . . . But all parts seem fully formed and properly connected. What are the specifics of the claim?
>>
>>
>>
>> On Fri, Dec 5, 2014 at 8:11 PM, John Chorazy <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> I've recently seen this sentence in a poem called a run-on and would dispute that claim. Any thoughts on a parsing would be appreciated.
>>
>> "There was a dream I had and want to keep remembering so / I write the image down, mindful that years from now nothing / will remain of it except this ink, and barely that."
>>
>> Thank you... enjoy the weekend.
>>
>>
>> --
>> John Chorazy
>> English III Honors, AP Lit
>> Advisor, Panther Press
>> Pequannock Township High School
>> 973.616.6000
>>
>>
>> Noli Timere
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>>
>>
>> --
>> John Chorazy
>> English III Honors, AP Lit
>> Advisor, Panther Press
>> Pequannock Township High School
>> 973.616.6000
>>
>>
>> Noli Timere
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