I apologize for the word being late guys! /:
Periodic Sentence-a sentence which is not grammatically complete until the end.
Seems logical right??!
An example is, "The child, who looked as if she were being chased by demons, ran."
Let's see what creative periodic sentences you guys can come up with! :D
-AlBa.
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hmmm..., "The little dog, spotted black and white like a cow, was perpetually happy." Is that it?
ReplyDeleteTwenty-seven white doves, fortunately, continued to fly.
ReplyDeleteAll of the timed writing, eventually, helped the class succeed in the exam.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that a periodic sentence is just another way of saying "indirect clause." An indirect clause is a phrase in a sentence that enhances meaning, but if it is taken away, the sentence still remains intact. For example, without your indirect clauses, your sentences would read: The little dog was perpetually happy, Twenty-seven white doves continued to fly, and All of the timed writing helped the class succeed in the exam. I think that Jerusalem's sentence is closest to a true periodic sentence, since Steven and Karen simply added adverbs. I will double check, but I don't think that adding an adverb makes it periodic. I believe it has to be a complete phrase.
ReplyDeleteHere is a great example of a a periodic sentence by Longfellow:
ReplyDelete“Out of the bosom of the Air,
Out of the cloud-folds of her garment shaken,
Over the woodlands brown and bare,
Over the harvest-fields forsaken,
Silent and soft, and slow,
Descends the snow.”
So, each clause build up until the final crescendo/climax at the end. It isn't until the end that you truly discover what is happening.
Great term, Alice! We should try using these types of sentences in our writing! In fact, plan on it for your upcoming research paper and memoir.
I just found another example of the periodic sentence, also known as hirmus:
ReplyDelete"And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing."
(The King James Bible, I Corinthians 13)
I also wrote my own:
Sweet and guiless, though dust covered his broken arm and bloody head, the abandoned child raised his eyes toward heaven, and sang.
The boy, as if by instinct from some great ancestral warrior, stood up to fight.
ReplyDeleteIs that correct?
Unprovided with original learning, uninformed in the habits of thinking, unskilled in the arts of composition, I resolved -- to write a book. (Edward Gibbon)
ReplyDeleteWith the strength of the heavens, the songs of the angels, and the faith in the gods- I am able to succeed.
Does that work?
Yes, Andrew and Vida! You guys hit it. However, I think it is also with your brains, Vida, that you are able to succeed. : )
ReplyDelete