on the other hand, adverbial prefixes, such as ūp in ūp-lang, ūt in ūt-weard, are so marked off. This then is where I have, not without misgivings, “drawn the line.” Where the two parts of a compound seem to preserve their full notional force I have used a hyphen; where the force of one part seems to be quite subordinate to that of the other, I have written them as one word. It is the familiar distinction of compounds and derivatives over again, but at a stage of the language when some compounds were in course of becoming derivatives. Doubtless there are mistakes and inconsistencies I need hardly say I shall be glad to have them printed out.
Punctuation. The punctuation of “Beowulf” has hitherto been largely traditional, as it were, and largely German, and German punctuation of course differs in some respects from English. Some editors have shown daring originality in the substitution of colons for the semi-colons, and marks of exclamation for the full-stops, of previous editors. Periods have usually been held too sacred to question. I may say at once, that although I have been extremely conservative in my handling of the text, I have felt and have shown scant courtesy for much of the traditional punctuation. Let me state here the principles, right or wrong, upon which I have acted. First, I have made the punctuation as simple as possible. I have therefore done sway with the somewhat fine distinction between the colon and the semicolon, and have restricted the use of the former to marking the opening of an oratio recta, and to a very few similar loci, such as ll. 801, 1392, 1476. In the some way, I have, wherever possible, done away with parentheses, and with our modern meretricious marks of exclamation. If the reader’s sense or emotions
