There's a differentiation in the use of commas around appositives that I
haven't seen anyone remark on yet. When the item is definite--already
introduced into the discourse--commas are used around the appositive.
When it is indefinite--being mentioned for the first time with the noun
phrase that the appositive accompanies--the commas can be left off.


Compare A, in which the sentence with the sculpture's title is the first
mention of the sculpture, with B, in which the sculpture is introduced
with the first sentence and continues to be a topic in the second.

A. We visited a museum recently that displayed several famous Rodin
sculptures. The sculpture 'The Discus Thrower' was beautiful to behold.

vs.

B. We saw a famous Rodin sculpture at the museum. The sculpture, 'The
Discus Thrower', was beautiful to behold.

This is probably a subcase of the restrictive/non-restrictive rule--in A
the second sentence picks out 'The Discus Thrower' from among all the
sculptures. There is only one candidate referent for 'the sculpture' in
the second sentence of B, so the title is non-restrictive. It's no
wonder people get confused about these comma rules. They're subtle.

Johanna Rubba

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