When Shakespeare wants to express strong emotion, he resorts to metaphors such as “What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun. Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon.” Romeo expresses intense passion for Juliet by comparing Juliet to the brilliant sun. No !!! needed here.
Robert Frost also uses metaphors to express emotion when he says, “The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.” He contrasts the aching loveliness of woods filling up with snow with the weariness and duty of the narrator. No unhappy emojis needed here.
When Jane Austin wants to show emotion between the mismatched Mr. and Mrs. Bennet, she does so using witty sarcasm. When Mrs. Bennet complains to her husband, “You have no compassion on my poor nerves!” Mr. Bennet responds, “I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends; I have heard you mention them with consideration these twenty years at least.” Mr. Bennet’s words are amusing but also show disappointment in his wife’s silly priorities. No haha needed here.
These methods of showing emotion require thoughtfulness on the part of the writers. Can you imagine Mr. Bennet rolling his eyes at his wife’s inanity and walking away without comment? How easy that would have been for Jane Austen. But what a two-hundred year loss of humor and gentle sarcasm.
Today’s writers of text messages—the medium which gave rise to the shortcut visual emotional responses—either haven’t the time, the desire, or the know-how to attract our minds with clever metaphors or retorts. So they resort to !!! or 😉 to express feelings. But how thin those feelings are compared to “My love is like a red, red rose.” No ! needed here.
English Writing Teacher 