Trying to Make Sense of It
I find Barbara Johnson’s approach to explain the purpose of rhetoric and the effect apostrophes create compelling. However, as previous blog posts have already mentioned, the text is very dense and the contrasting evidences she provides seem to have a disconnection among them. My main problem with the essay is that Johnson seems to mention several instances where apostrophes are used, like in Baudelaire or Brook’s works, but the comparison she poses between Baudelaire and Shelly’s works and Brook’s poem seems unclear to me. Based on my understanding, Johnson uses examples from Baudelaire and Shelly’s poems to point out that a simple apostrophe can create a large impact in manipulating how a work is presented. Essentially, an apostrophe can turn the structure from direct to indirect as well as personify inanimate objects. However, she loses me when she starts discussing Brook’s poem when she refers to the “you” and the “I.” I had a hard time grasping her logic behind that part. Johnson’s point does become clearer in the next few paragraphs as she discusses the role of apostrophes and the way they present women.
Her argument on abortion and the how it’s presented in male and female writings remind me of the sociolinguistic aspect of writings. In the subject of abortion, women are more personally connected with the consequences and effects of this issue, so the voices that resonate in their writings are significantly different than those by male authors. I think Johnson brings up a good point in addressing the role of apostrophes in writings. Although there are still areas I don’t understand completely, I appreciate the fact that Johnson points out the ubiquitous role rhetoric plays in not only poetry, but also other works. The amount of attention she gives to an apostrophe, something so minute, is astonishing. Previously, I only looked at apostrophe as a way to show possession and simply glossed over them, but after reading her essay, I start to see the linguistic roles it can play in writings.