That Disgraceful, Disreputable, (Wonderful) Form of Punctuation: The Parenthesis

The word “punctuation” first appears in John Eliot’s 1593 French dialogue book *Orthoepia Gallica*, where he likens punctuation marks to “pricks, nicks, and tricks” that reflect technological, gender, and literary concerns. The essay highlights Sir Philip Sidney’s 1586 unfinished epic, whose abrupt mid-battle parenthetical break mirrors his death and inspired later writers to use parentheses as a narrative springboard.