Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 1 of 2 1 2
#171979 12/10/07 10:59 AM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
E.E. Cummings uses the prenoun I very sparsly and when he does he writes it: --- i
Helen of Troy uses this little i consequently. And sometimes I see it done elsewhere. Is there a trend to drop the I for the i?
If so, why?

BranShea #171983 12/10/07 12:16 PM
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 13,803
When E. E. Cummings refers to himself by name it is as "e. e. cummings". Orthography is not one of helen's strong points. If there's any tendency to lowercase the first person singular nominative pronoun it's part of a general idiotendency to lowercase everything. I know of no movement to lowercase just "I".

Faldage #171984 12/10/07 12:49 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
So much the better. In a poem, sparsly used it may have a special meaning and looks allright.
In larger texts, as this pronoun is only a one letter sign, I think it looks poorly.

Oh,(Edit), I think Helen writes the little i on purpose,
not out of weakness.Furthermore and most of all, the cover pages of the books I have give E.E. Cummings with capitals and in the books he does not refer to himself, but writes nice poetry.

Last edited by BranShea; 12/10/07 03:07 PM.
BranShea #171988 12/10/07 03:43 PM
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 120
member
Offline
member
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 120
Editorial changes--I think that this post is the first time I've seen e.e. cummings capitilized!


tempus edax rerum
Maven #171991 12/10/07 04:12 PM
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
OP Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
If you need proof, nothing I can do about it.

E.E.C.

BranShea #171993 12/10/07 04:39 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542

tsuwm #171994 12/10/07 04:41 PM
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
a pre-internet meme, eh?


formerly known as etaoin...
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
addict
Offline
addict
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 631
Speaking of weird names, what's the weirdest?

There's always The Artist Formerly Known As Prince. And I also recall a writer who named himself circle—not the word, mind you, but the shape.

Edit: God bless Wikipedia.

Last edited by Hydra; 12/10/07 05:14 PM.
tsuwm #172003 12/10/07 05:59 PM
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557
M
addict
Offline
addict
M
Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 557

In the first link:
Quote:
"I am a small eye poet." Notice that he capitalizes the first-person singular,

Maybe, I need a little more to prove he not merely capitalizing the first letter of the sentence.

In the second link, the text of their "correctly" capitalized plaque:
Quote:
4 PATCHIN PLACE
ONE-TIME HOME OF "POETandPAINTER" E. E. CUMMINGS (d. 1962) AND
HIS WIFE, MODEL AND PHOTOGRAPHER MARION MOREHOUSE (d. 1969)

They capitalized everything! Did they think other people would put "e. e. cUMMINGS" in that situation? Is "POETandPAINTER" with no spaces something from the poet (and how is it capitalized there) or another example of Norman Friedman's superior orthography?

Myridon #172006 12/10/07 06:07 PM
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Apr 2000
Posts: 10,542
or is Norman Friedman just a crank?

-joe (he asks for money to support his plaque!) friday

Page 1 of 2 1 2

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
0 members (), 397 guests, and 3 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5