punctuation

punctuation.
A coherent system of punctuation, which did not exist in the classical or medieval periods, was probably first mandated by Renaissance printers. Given the almost complete absence of punctuation in Shakespeare's contribution to the Sir Thomas More manuscript, some scholars have concluded that punctuation marks in the printed texts of his plays are probably the compositors' rather than Shakespeare's. And yet, the humour of Peter Quince's prologue in A Midsummer Night's Dream (5.1.108–17) depends upon its deliberate mispunctuation: as Theseus observes, ‘This fellow doth not stand upon points’ (5.1.118).

Eric Rasmussen