Punctuation is an essential part of any piece of writing. Besides the words themselves, it is the most effective way to convey a message. Viktor E. Frankl uses a unique style of punctuation in his book Man's Search for Meaning to explain his thoughts clearly for the reader. Note Frankl's punctuation in the following passage:
" But I did not only talk of the future and the veil which was drawn over it. I also mentioned the past; all its joys, and how its light shone even in the present darkness. Again I quoted a poet-to avoid sounding like a preacher myself-who had written, 'Was Du erlebst, kann keine Macht der Welt Dir rauben.' (What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you.) Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being. Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind."
It's important to understand the context of said passage, to understand Frankl's message, and thus his punctuation choices. In this passage, Frankl is talking to a group of fellow inmates as a means of collective psychotherapy. He's attempting to comfort the prisoners by mentioning their past lives, and by doing so he conveys the overarching message that past experiences are still valuable despite them being past. Now we can connect his message, to his punctuation choices. In the third sentence (starting with Again I...) Frankl uses a set of dashes. These dashes are used to insert Frankl's inner monologue, something he didn't say or think at the time, but realizes it now as he's writing about his past experiences. In the sentence that begins with Not only... Frankl uses a series of commas and then a semi-colon. He uses to commas to clarify and expand upon the idea that past experiences are valuable. The semi-colon is used to emphasize the phrase, "we have brought it into being."
Frankl's use of punctuation is unique to his writing style, and some may critique it as unorthodox. While it may be unorthodox, it is used as a stylistic device to further convey his point. Frankl has the freedom to not follow all the correct grammar and punctuation rules, because he is using punctuation as more than just the end of a sentence.
" But I did not only talk of the future and the veil which was drawn over it. I also mentioned the past; all its joys, and how its light shone even in the present darkness. Again I quoted a poet-to avoid sounding like a preacher myself-who had written, 'Was Du erlebst, kann keine Macht der Welt Dir rauben.' (What you have experienced, no power on earth can take from you.) Not only our experiences, but all we have done, whatever great thoughts we may have had, and all we have suffered, all this is not lost, though it is past; we have brought it into being. Having been is also a kind of being, and perhaps the surest kind."
It's important to understand the context of said passage, to understand Frankl's message, and thus his punctuation choices. In this passage, Frankl is talking to a group of fellow inmates as a means of collective psychotherapy. He's attempting to comfort the prisoners by mentioning their past lives, and by doing so he conveys the overarching message that past experiences are still valuable despite them being past. Now we can connect his message, to his punctuation choices. In the third sentence (starting with Again I...) Frankl uses a set of dashes. These dashes are used to insert Frankl's inner monologue, something he didn't say or think at the time, but realizes it now as he's writing about his past experiences. In the sentence that begins with Not only... Frankl uses a series of commas and then a semi-colon. He uses to commas to clarify and expand upon the idea that past experiences are valuable. The semi-colon is used to emphasize the phrase, "we have brought it into being."
Frankl's use of punctuation is unique to his writing style, and some may critique it as unorthodox. While it may be unorthodox, it is used as a stylistic device to further convey his point. Frankl has the freedom to not follow all the correct grammar and punctuation rules, because he is using punctuation as more than just the end of a sentence.
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