I love you.!?

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I love you.!?





It has been some years since I thought about love letters. In the times of SMS language, short messages and emoticons, I am not even sure if people write letters any more. Like bellbottoms, frocks and long sideburns, they too seem to have gone out of fashion.

It may be easy if the subject of your affection is more interested in material expressions like flowers, chocolates, dresses, or diamonds (after all they are the girl’s best friend, remember?) 

Yet if spending is not involved or she, even he, is more favourable towards the written word, then aren’t the right words to express your thoughts and feelings extremely important? Here let me caution you- the pitfall is that even if the appropriate words have been chosen with care, it is those little naughty punctuation marks which can change the meaning by 180 degrees, causing all hell to break loose. You doubt that? Have a look at the following two examples which caught my attention:

https://cybertext.wordpress.com/2012/11/22/a-light-hearted-look-at-how-punctuation-can-change-meaning/

Dear John:

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy– will you let me be yours?

Jane

And with different punctuation marks:

 Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people, who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men, I yearn. For you, I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart, I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,

Jane


The second example from: 

https://mssanford.weebly.com/weekly-update-2013/punctuation-is-powerful

My dear Pat,

The dinner we shared the other night- it was absolutely lovely! Not in my wildest dreams could I ever imagine anyone as perfect as you are. Could you- if only for a moment- think of our being together forever? What a cruel joke to have you come into my life only to leave again; it would be heaven denied. The possibility of seeing you again makes me giddy with joy. I face the time we are apart with great sadness.

John.

P.S.: I would like to tell you that I love you. I can’t stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth!

Different punctuation marks convey the exact opposite meaning:

My dear Pat,

The dinner we shared the other night: it was absolutely lovely- not! In my wildest dreams, could I ever imagine anyone? As perfect as you are, could you– if only for a moment– think?  Of our being together forever:  what a cruel joke! To have you come into my life only to leave again: it would be heaven! Denied the possibility of seeing you again makes me giddy. With joy I face the time we are apart.

With great “sadness”’
John

P.S.: I would like to tell you that I love you. I can’t. Stop thinking that you are one of the prettiest women on earth!

Honest expression of a child's love!

What can I say? I realised everyone should be careful while putting their emotions into words on paper or screen to the person they care for the most. Otherwise before you could say “Darling, I didn’t mean that…”  the romance would have been crushed to a sudden untimely death.


Perhaps a Zulu-speaking girl writing to the hero of her vivid dreams


... 

Comments

  1. SHALINI SINHA5 December 2020 at 14:13

    Hilarious 😂. Imagining the reaction of a person expecting a love letter, getting one too but with...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sunayana8 December 2020 at 21:12

    Very funny article

    ReplyDelete

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