[Thenamir]

Obviously, Finduilas, you have not been here long enough to appreciate the finer points of the fluff and frippery in which we occasionally engage ourselves.

Originally Posted by Saucepan Man

While Eomer's contribution conveys a piquant sense of loss, while at the same time expressing a sense of hope that answers may yet be found, your addition of the "!" exaggerates the essential tone of the original statement by introducing a sense of bravado, outrage even, which punctuates the fragile mystery and thus brings the poignancy of the moment crashing brutally down in an exclamatory cacophony of despair.

Indeed, SpM, i was caught up in the exuberance of the moment, and perhaps my excesses can be forgiven. However, my “!” proceeded not from a sense of outrage, but rather a vehement agreement with Eomer’s initial sortie.

And while our dear Bb is to be commended for her proper amendations to my initial criticisms, I would suggest that perhaps a further amendment of her opening gambit, from “.” to perhaps a softer “…” might have stayed my perhaps overcritical mal mot. As can plainly be seen if viewed in context, “…” could have been taken as an implicit “?”, leaving open the possibility of concepts unspoken to the imaginations of the reader, even of a grand denouement left hidden, hanging in a deft display of a kind of authorial “cliff hanger”, as it were.

Nevertheless, I believe it can be demonstrated that the asymmetrical nature of “?”, appearing as it does unbalanced and almost ready to topple, provides a more succinct expression than “…”, but that either is quite superior to the “.”.