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That punctuation is important all agree; but how few comprehend the extent of its importance! The writer who neglects punctuation, or mispunctuates, is liable to be misunderstood. It does not seem to be known that, even when the sense is prefectly clear, a sentence may be deprived of half its force its spirit its point by improper punctuation.

Edgar Allan Poe in Graham's Magazine (February, 1848)