Widows and Orphans - Remembering The Terms

Remembering The Terms

A common mnemonic is "An orphan has no past; a widow has no future" or "An orphan is left behind, whereas a widow must go on alone".

Another way is to think of orphans as generally being younger than widows; thus, orphaned lines happen first, at the start of paragraphs (affecting and stranding the first line), and widowed lines happen last, at the end of paragraphs (affecting and stranding the last line). Orphaned lines appear at the "birth" (start) of paragraphs; widowed lines appear at the "death" (end) of paragraphs.

Read more about this topic:  Widows And Orphans

Famous quotes containing the words remembering the, remembering and/or terms:

    O Father we welcome your words,
    And we will take heart for the future,
    Remembering the past.
    —T.S. (Thomas Stearns)

    Often, when there is a conflict between parent and child, at its very hub is an expectation that the child should be acting differently. Sometimes these expectations run counter what is known about children’s growth. They stem from remembering oneself, but usually at a slightly older age.
    Ellen Galinsky (20th century)

    My father and I were always on the most distant terms when I was a boy—a sort of armed neutrality, so to speak. At irregular intervals this neutrality was broken, and suffering ensued; but I will be candid enough to say that the breaking and the suffering were always divided up with strict impartiality between us—which is to say, my father did the breaking, and I did the suffering.
    Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)