Guest Author - Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman

As the Senior Poetry Editor for Mused, I have noted with increasing frustration and proportion, the tendency for some poets to incorporate the use of ellipses in their verse. I'd like to define why this is not generally a good idea, is generally almost always a guarantee of rejection for publication and how to more effectively get your point across sans the dots.

What Are Ellipses?

From the ever-helpful dictionary.com, ellipses are a proper form of punctuating. There is indeed a time and place for them, including:

1.a. the omission from a sentence or other construction of one or more words that would complete or clarify the construction, as the omission of who are, while I am, or while we are from the sentence "I like to interview people ... sitting down."

b. the omission of one or more items from a construction in order to avoid repeating the identical or equivalent items that are in a preceding or following construction, as the omission of been to Paris from the second clause of "I've ... Paris, but they haven't."


Ironically enough, the very word ellipsis stems from the greek elleipsis which means to fall short . Which is nicely self-defining as it represents exactly what it causes the poem to do. I am certain this is nearly never the poets original intent.

Nine times from ten, when an ellipsis is used in poetry (ellipses being the plural), it's used to indicate a pause or continuation of some sort. As in:

Tenderly, she mouthed the night
spiralling her desire
across the stars...

One assumes the poet is trying to show a continuatuon of thought when used in this fashion. But note that it adds nothing to the poem, and in fact detracts by rendering the end of the line weak and somewhat wishy-washy. I say this as conjecture because it is never generally clear what someone is intending to imply, but as they generally follow a line or stanza, I can assume this is what is being indicated. But then, that is the point. It isn't at all clear. And a lack of clarity is just generally never a good thing where poetry is concerned. And even if, it's absolutely unnecessary, as this is what line breaks and stanza ends are for.

Which brings us to reason number one why you should never use ellipses in poetry:

It is the hallmark of amateurity.

Most of the time, it demonstrates a lack of understanding what line breaks, stanza ends and the like, are actually for. There are exceptions, of course, but this remains a general rule.

There are times when ellipses are helpful in poetry. When you are quoting a specific text and want to lead from verse 1 to verse 10 without typing verses 2-9. Or when a stanza continues on the next page.

But in the body of the poem itself? Almost never. Of course, like all poetic rules that remains a generalization. Almost certainly some poet will come along and find a new and innovative way to include it.

But until then...


Lisbeth Cheever-Gessaman