What Is an Exclamation and How to Use it Properly

An exclamation is a sudden, forceful expression or cry. Adjective: exclamatory.  The rhetorical term for an exclamation is ecphonesis. Also called a response cry. Although many exclamations are single-word interjections  (including a number of taboo words), some exclamations take the form of phrases and clauses.   Examples and Observations What a Great Exclamation!Some exclamation begin with the words what and how which are also interrogative words. Examples of their use in exclamations are What a lovely baby that is! and How prettily it gurgles! But these are not interrogative sentences.Antiquated ExclamationsBefore the governor had time to answer this question, Pallet broke forth into an exclamation of By the Lord! that is certainly fact, egad!...  Gadzooks; youre in the right, sir.Tom Wolfes ExclamationsOne of the signature devices of [Tom] Wolfes style is his periodic bursts of enthusiastic endorsement or identification--But exactly! Of course! Just right! While these interruptions are perhaps too playful and ironic to qualify as expressions of what Longinus calls vehement and inspired passion, they do imply the intensity of Wolfes involvement in the actions he is describing. They contribute to the effect of hypotyposis: its as if Wolfe is re-experiencing his initial enthusiasms in the present of the essay.The Li ghter Side of ExclamationsBlackadder: Sir, might I let loose a short violent exclamation?Prince George: Certainly.Blackadder: [Blackadder moves discreetly sideways, then shouts] Damn! Pronunciation ex-kla-MAY-shen Also Known As ejaculatioe Sources James R. Hurford,  Grammar: A Students Guide. Cambridge University Press, 1994 Tobias Smollett,  The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, 1751 Chris Anderson,  Style as Argument: Contemporary American Nonfiction. Southern Illinois University Press, 1987 Rowan Atkinson and Hugh Laurie in Dish and Dishonesty.  Black Adder the Third, 1987