As with other paired bracketing devices {such as parentheses, dashes and quotation marks}, there is actual mental cruelty involved , incidentally, in opening up a pair of commas and then neglecting to deliver the closing one. The reader hears the first shoe drop and then strains in agony to hear the second. In dramatic terms, it's like putting a gun on the mantelpiece in Act I and then having the heroine drown herself quietly offstage in the bath during the interval. It's just not cricket.
Lynne Truss, in her book "Eats, Shoots & Leaves," highlights the importance of using paired punctuation marks correctly. She underscores the frustration that arises when a pair of commas is opened but never closed, likening it to a dramatic setup where suspense is created but never resolved. This unmet expectation can be mentally torturous for readers as they anticipate where the sentence will conclude.
Truss compares this punctuation lapse to a theatrical device where a significant object is introduced without it playing a crucial role in the unfolding narrative. By not providing closure, the writer leaves readers in a state of unresolved tension, akin to a plot that fails to deliver on its promises. This analogy serves to emphasize the need for precision in writing and the impact of punctuation on the reader's experience.
