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Unread 01-31-2002, 04:34 PM
Robert J. Clawson Robert J. Clawson is offline
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Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Massachusetts
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[quote]Originally posted by Richard Wakefield:

"Initial caps don't even make any noise -- they just sit there on the page."

Yes, they're visuals. But in the work of great poets, they're invisible. Frost used them, but I didn't even notice that until about five years ago.

I think that they indicate that the poet feels that the line is primary and is under perfect control. They're vulnerable to looking mannered or pretentious if the lines aren't gems.

Bob