Interjection - Academic Mode

Definition of Interjection
An interjection is a short expression that writers use to express emotions. Interjections can be independent or they can appear at the beginning or end of a sentence. Interjections can convey emotions without necessarily connecting to the main idea, and neither a subject nor the verb must be present to define an interjection.

Interjections are also considered exclamations. An exclamation generally follows an interjection or comes at the end of an exclamatory sentence. sentence:

“Oh! (I thought, and my heart was pounding) / How fast it's getting closer and closer! "
(The Rime of Ancient Mariner, by S. Coleridge)

Daily Use of Interjections
Depending on the emotions conveyed in a sentence, interjections can be expressed in various ways. Some of those ways include:

Exclamation point (to express strong emotion)
Hey! Stop playing tricks on me!
Ow! That hurts!
Comma or ellipsis (to express a weaker emotion)
Well, it's time to move on.
Man… doesn't that look good
?
What? Haven't completed your homework yet?
Interjection types
Adjective
Example: Great! Now you can move on to the next chapter.
Noun or noun phrase
Example: Congratulations! You passed your exam.
Short clause
Example: Brandy is his science teacher. Oh, the horror!
Sounds
Example: Uh-oh! Belle Dame Sans Merci (by John Keats)
“And that's where she fell asleep,
And that's where I dreamed - ah! Woe in between!
The last dream I ever dreamed
On the cold hill side. ”

Keats used a short clause as an interjection, shown here in italics. Exclamation marks show extreme suffering on the part of the speaker. The speaker's expression emphasizes the romantic medieval atmosphere of a cave, where a woman lulls a knight to sleep and he begins to dream.

Example # 2: Othello (by William Shakespeare)
“Iago: Wake up! What, ho, Brabantio! Burglars! Burglars! Burglars!
Look at her house, her daughter and her suitcases!
Thieves! Burglars!

In these lines, Iago tries to cause problems for Othello by waking Brabantio with the news of the escape of Desdemona and Othello. The emotion expressed here is Iago's surprise.

Example # 3: Mother and son (by Eugene Field)
Give me back my heavenly son,
My love! "The rose in anguish cried out;
Ay! the sky smiled triumphantly,
And so the flower, with a broken heart, died."

Field has used different forms of interjections here. In the first line, he has used an exclamation point to express surprise, while in the second line he has used the nominal phrase "my love" as an interjection. In the third line, the word "Ay!", complete with an exclamation point, is used to express the sadness of a mother afflicted

Example # 4: Waiting for Godot (by Samuel Beckett)
Vladimir:
“Oh, sorry! I could have sworn it was a carrot. (He rummages in his pockets again, finds nothing but turnips.) That's all turnips ... "

At the beginning of this excerpt, Vladimir has used the short clause" oh sorry "as an interjection to show weak emotion.

Example # 5: Ode to Nightingale (by John Keats)
"Homeless! The word itself is like a 40 to 4 bell To bring me back from you to my unique self!
Adieu! Fantasy cannot deceive so well ...
Adieu! adieu! the whining hymn fades away ”

In this final stanza of this poem, Keats uses the term“ homeless ”as the sound of a bell ringing, to bring the speaker out of his daydream about the nightingale and back into real life. Keats uses this interjection, as well as the term "goodbye" to indicate the speaker's pain.

Functions of interjections
Interjections can appear as a single phrase, word or short sentence. The most critical function of an interjection is its ability to convey emotions that might otherwise be ignored in a sentence. Through interjections, writers can express emotions such as joy. Excitement, surprise, sadness, or even disgust. You can also exaggerate these emotions with the use of an exclamation mark.

Although interjections may seem trivial, their function as part of language is important. It is often difficult to express emotions in writing, and without interjections it might otherwise be impossible.