Talk:Poetic contraction

References?
I cannot find a single instance of some of them. Backinstadiums (talk) 14:23, 4 December 2016 (UTC)


 * Article is already tagged as unreferenced and for notability. Paradoctor (talk) 15:32, 4 December 2016 (UTC)

"Needn't" Archaic?
This page needn't list "needn't" as an example of a contraction used only in poetry, especially without citing a reference. Dictionaries (e.g. _Oxford Dictionary of English_ and _New Oxford American Dictionary_) list it as an entry, without qualifications like the ones on "o'er" ("archaic or literary") and "'tis" ("mainly literary"). (They also don't qualify the entry for "ne'er", which I've never heard outside of poetry/lyrics except in the expression "ne'er-do-well".)

An example of "needn't" in a poem does come to mind: Humpty Dumpty's Song by Lewis Carroll, "But he was very stiff and proud: He said 'You needn't shout so loud!'". But he also has several characters use it in prose dialog about five times in the same book, including, just before, "“You needn’t go on making remarks like that,” Humpty Dumpty said".

I would look in Google NGrams for all usages in books over time, but unfortunately it doesn't work on contractions and treats "needn't" as the same as "need not".

Wrong Oms (talk) 21:08, 9 December 2023 (UTC)

Examples
'tis - 'Tis the gift to be simple - https://hymnary.org/text/tis_the_gift_to_be_simple

'twas - 'Twas the Night before Christmas - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Visit_from_St._Nicholas

o'er - O'er the hills and far away - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over_the_Hills_and_Far_Away_(traditional_song)

gi' - gi's the other bend - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=rqRhAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA349#v=onepage&q&f=false

ne'er - ne'er the twain shall meet - https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/ne'er+the+twain+shall+meet

i' - Glints i' the gloaming - https://archive.org/details/glintsigloamins00ogggoog/page/n16/mode/2up

e'er - an act of heroism for which the nation will e'er be grateful - https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/e'er

a' - standing for 'he' ?????

a' - standing for 'all' - Definition 7 - https://www.dictionary.com/browse/a

e'en - Hallowe'en (an alternative to Halloween) - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/halloween?q=hallowe%27en

o' - a cup o' kindness - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auld_Lang_Syne

ope - ope the door - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AIu6spFIB_gC&pg=PA208

th' - contracted form of both 'thou' and 'the' - https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=AIu6spFIB_gC&pg=PA208

o' - jack-o'-lantern - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/jack-o-lantern?q=jack-o%E2%80%99-lantern

o' - o'clock - https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/o-clock?q=o%E2%80%99clock

heav'n - Heav'n has confirm'd the great decree - https://hymnary.org/text/heaven_has_confirmed_the_great_decree

an' - an' foolish notion - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_a_Louse

ta'en - Home art gone, and ta’en thy wages - https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/50428/song-fear-no-more-the-heat-o-the-sun-

de'il - The De'il Among the Tailors - https://tunearch.org/wiki/Devil_Among_the_Tailors_(1)_(The)

ALSO - De’ils On Wheels - https://www.glasgowecotrust.org.uk/deilsonwheels

Other examples can be found here - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elision#English

and 'em could be added - Fleas: Adam had 'em - https://www.thoughtco.com/finding-text-complexity-in-a-3-word-poem-8025 PPTWizard (talk) 14:49, 12 November 2022 (UTC)