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“THE SPOUTING RANT OF HIGH-TONED EXCLAMATION”:
THE ART OF ORAL/AURAL CARICATURE
IN PAINE’S RIGHTS OF MAN
Pie e Lu be
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.14712/2571452X.2024.68.5
Abs ac : Taking as i s s a ing poin S e en Blakemo e’s con en ion ha Thomas
Paine’s pu pose, in w i ing Righ s o Man, was o “linguis ically supp ess” Edmund
Bu ke, his a icle explo es a compa a i ely neglec ed aspec o his a emp a linguis ic
supp ession, namely he delibe a e use o punc ua ion by Paine o unde mine his
opponen ’s au ho i y. Paine’s memo able ph ase o cha ac e ize Bu ke’s s yle, “The
spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion,” is no simply an ins ance o he au ho ’s
e bal in en i eness. I is deeply oo ed in he ich soil o mid- o la e eigh een h cen u y
B i ain, when g amma , punc ua ion and elocu ion became he opic o a g owing
numbe o books, in a cul u al con ex in which “ eading” was widely unde s ood o
mean “ eading aloud.” E en so-called “silen eading” could no go wi hou a ce ain
amoun o sub ocaliza ion, hanks o which he eade could be said o “hea ,” e en
in e nally, he wo ds on he page. All eading he e o e in ol ing a deg ee o
pe o mance, his allowed Paine o make de as a ing use o he exclama ion ma k o
dis o signi ican quo a ions om Bu ke and al e he na u e o he emo ions he o iginal
ex was supposed o con ey. This eminds us ha poli ical ca ica u e can be no less
o al/au al han isual.
Keywo ds: Edmund Bu ke, Thomas Paine, ca ica u e, elocu ion, exclama ion, pe o mance,
punc ua ion, hea ical
Thomas Paine’s classic wo k in de ence o he F ench Re olu ion, Righ s o Man,1
has been assessed om a a ie y o angles, anging om he his o y o poli ical
ideas o linguis ic and s ylis ic app oaches mean o highligh he no el y o his
way o w i ing. As Paine was p omp ed o w i e Righ s o Man as a esponse o
1 All quo a ions below a e om he i s edi ion (o Pa 1): Righ s o Man: Being an Answe
o M . Bu ke’s A ack on he F ench Re olu ion (London: J.S. Jo dan, 1791).
Pie e Lu be
68
Edmund Bu ke’s own Re lec ions on he Re olu ion in F ance,2 much has been made
o he linguis ic di e ences be ween Paine’s and Bu ke’s espec i e idioms. One
o he main p oponen s o his “linguis ic u n” in he s udy o he F ench
Re olu ion deba e,3 S e en Blakemo e,4 has laid pa icula emphasis on Paine’s
comba i e use o language “ o exclude o linguis ically supp ess any i al sou ce
o ounde .”5 Righ s o Man can he e o e be iewed as an a emp “ o expunge o
‘ ead ou ’ o exis ence anyone he el h ea ened his p i ileged posi ion [as he
au ho o a new poli ical wo ld].”6 I is he pu pose o his a icle o show ha his
p ocess o “linguis ic supp ession” is closely ied o he na u e o Righ s o Man as
an o al/au al p oduc ion, a dimension ha has been compa a i ely neglec ed and
ha needs o be eco e ed o ge a be e g asp o he a ie y o s a egies Paine
made use o o disc edi Bu ke’s hough .
One o Paine’s mos o ce ul blows is s uck ea ly on in he book. This is he
well-known p elude o he sa age debunking o Bu ke’s accoun o his i s
“ ision” o Ma ie-An oine e, one o he pu ple pa ches o Re lec ions:
As o he agic pain ings by which M . Bu ke has ou aged his own
imagina ion, and seeks o wo k upon ha o his eade s, hey a e e y well
calcula ed o hea ical ep esen a ion, whe e ac s a e manu ac u ed o
he sake o show, and accommoda ed o p oduce, h ough he weakness o
sympa hy, a weeping e ec . Bu M . Bu ke should ecollec ha he is
w i ing His o y, and no Plays; and ha his eade s will expec u h, and
no he spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion.7
2 Paine e e s o he i s edi ion o Bu ke’s wo k, om which my own quo a ions a e
aken: Re lec ions on he Re olu ion in F ance, and on he P oceedings o Ce ain Socie ies in
London Rela i e o ha E en . In a Le e In ended o ha e been Sen o a Gen leman in Pa is
(London: J. Dodsley, 1790).
3 William S a o d, “Shall We Take he Linguis ic Tu n? B i ish Radicalism in he E a o
he F ench Re olu ion,” His o ical Jou nal 43, no. 2 (2000): 583-94. The seminal wo k ha
ga e ise o he linguis ic u n is James T. Boul on’s The Language o Poli ics in he Age o
Wilkes and Bu ke (London: Rou ledge and Kegan Paul, 1963). A mo e ecen con ibu ion
is Jane Hodson, Language and Re olu ion in Bu ke, Wolls onec a , Paine, and Godwin
(Alde sho : Ashga e, 2007).
4 S e en Blakemo e, Bu ke and he Fall o Language: The F ench Re olu ion as Linguis ic E en
(Hano e , NH: B own Uni e si y P ess / Uni e si y P ess o New England, 1988).
5 S e en Blakemo e, C isis in Rep esen a ion: Thomas Paine, Ma y Wolls onec a , Helen Ma ia
Williams, and he Rew i ing o he F ench Re olu ion (Madison, WI: Fai leigh Dickinson
Uni e si y P ess, 1997), 43.
6 Blakemo e, C isis in Rep esen a ion, 44.
7 Paine, Righ s o Man, 21.
“The spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion”
69
Paine hen immedia ely p oceeds o exco ia e Bu ke’s ex by quo ing and
sa cas ically commen ing on a ew signi ican ex ac s, in a passage ha will be
examined la e . We need i s o ealize he ull implica ions o he las ph ase in
he quo a ion abo e, “ he spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion,” which is
oo ed in he eigh een h-cen u y e i al o he heo y o elocu ion, o which
con empo a y e lec ions on he use o punc ua ion mus also be added.
An essen ial p elimina y s ep is o ge ou o he way he misleading dis inc ion
be ween so-called “silen eading” and he p ac ice o eading aloud, as i hese
we e u e ly dis inc , incompa ible modes o eading. These should be iewed no
in e ms o dis inc al e na i es, bu as he wo ex eme poin s o a con inuum,
om hea ing an in e nal oice eading ou in he mind he ex on he page,
h ough silen ly mo ing one’s lips while eading, eading ou so ly o onesel ,
and eading ou loud, ei he o onesel o o an audience.
Reading is no jus abou he eyes ollowing he lines on pape , be hey
handw i en o p in ed; i in ol es bodily ac i i ies which eade s a e no e en
awa e o , bu which can be measu ed none heless. The s udy o wha ac ually
happens when people ead silen ly shows ha he muscles in he h oa a e
unconsciously in ol ed du ing he ac o eading. The physical eali y o
“sub ocaliza ion” has been amply documen ed hanks o he use o
elec omyog ams, showing ha “a ce ain amoun o sub ocaliza ion – which in
essence means a ce ain amoun o inaudible eading aloud – is p esen o some
deg ee o o he in all eade s.”8 The e is he e o e no such hing as “silen eading”
as such, o mo e accu a ely, “silen eading” in ol es a much wide a ay o
physical and physiological p ocesses han is o en assumed.
In he eigh een h cen u y, he ac i i y o eading was gene ally unde s ood as
“ eading aloud,” so much so ha his almos wen wi hou saying.9 Books wi h
i les con aining he ph ase “ he a o eading,” such as John Rice’s In oduc ion o
he A o Reading wi h Ene gy and P op ie y (1765) o Thomas She idan’s Lec u es on
he A o Reading (1775), we e a s aple o he o ical li e a u e; and wha his ph ase
e e ed o, as is clea om Rice’s i le, was he a o eading aloud, he
assump ion being ha many – i no all – ex s we e mean o be unde s ood and
8 A.K. Ga ilo , “Techniques o Reading in Classical An iqui y,” Classical Qua e ly 47, no. 1
(1997): 60.
9 In his espec , eigh een h-cen u y eading p ac ices did no di e om a much longe
adi ion. On he o al dimension o ea ly mode n eading, see Jenni e Richa ds, Voices
and Books in he English Renaissance: A New His o y o Reading (Ox o d: Ox o d Uni e si y
P ess, 2019).
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enjoyed as pe o mance, no simply o be ead silen ly.10 This aised he ques ion
o how o de ise an adequa e sys em o symbols o help a eade ind he co ec
mood and one when eading aloud a pa icula wo k. In She idan’s wo ds: “Thus
hey [child en] will ea ly be ini ia ed in o he p ac ice o conside ing eading, o
be no hing mo e han speaking a sigh , by he assis ance o le e s; in he same
manne as singing a sigh is pe o med in music, by he help o no es.”11 Indeed,
he ph ase “ eading aloud” as such does no mean much, hence he need o
p o ide eade s wi h symbols helping hem o pe o m a gi en ex adequa ely.
One o he mos sys ema ic a emp s o he kind was Joshua S eele’s P osodia
Ra ionalis: An Essay Towa ds Es ablishing he Melody and Measu e o Speech o be
Exp essed and Pe pe ua ed by Peculia Symbols (1775), in which he ied o codi y a
sys em o “peculia symbols,” on he model o musical no a ion, o gi e
unambiguous ins uc ions on he way in which a ex ough o be pe o med.
Much o he book was de o ed o he igh way o eading poe y and d ama.
S eele ga e a ende ing o wha Hamle ’s “To be, o no o be” soliloquy (Ac 3,
Scene 1) should sound like, wi h speci ic ma ks mean o gi e p ecise indica ions
abou he one o be adop ed.12 Bu when S eele hea d Da id Ga ick’s
in e p e a ion o Hamle ’s soliloquy, he was in o a shock:
Since w i ing he o egoing ea ise, I ha e hea d M . Ga ick in he cha ac e
o Hamle ; and he p incipal di e ences ha I can emembe , be ween his
manne , and wha I ha e ma ked in he ea ise, a e as ollow:
In he i s place, ha speech, o soliloque, which I ( o wan o be e
judgmen ) ha e no ed in he s ile o a an ing ac o , swelled wi h o e and
so ened wi h piano, he deli e ed wi h li le o no dis inc ion o piano and
o e, bu nea ly uni o m; some hing below he o dina y o ce, o , as a
musician would say, so o oce, o semp e poco piano.13
10 Jay Fliegelman makes his poin wi h ega d o he Ame ican Decla a ion o Independence
(1776): “By iewing he Decla a ion as a ex mean o be ead silen ly a he han o be
hea d as pe o mance we ha e los sigh o c ucial mid-eigh een h cen u y assump ions
abou speake s and pe sonal exp ession, abou he o ic and he a o eading (a ph ase
ha , as in John Rice’s i le, s ill had he p ima y sense o eading aloud), assump ions
necessa y o a ull unde s anding o Re olu iona y Ame ican cul u e.” Jay Fliegelman,
Decla ing Independence: Je e son, Na u al Language, and he Cul u e o Pe o mance
(S an o d, CA: S an o d Uni e si y P ess, 1993), 24.
11 Thomas She idan, Lec u es on he A o Reading. In Two Pa s: Con aining Pa I. The A o
Reading P ose. Pa II. The A o Reading Ve se (London: J. Dodsley and C. Dilly, 1787), 105.
12 Joshua S eele, An Essay owa ds Es ablishing he Melody and Measu e o Speech o be
Exp essed and Pe pe ua ed by Peculia Symbols (London: J. Almon, 1775), 40-46.
13 S eele, Melody and Measu e, 47.
“The spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion”
71
The disc epancy be ween Ga ick’s in e p e a ion o he soliloquy, and ha o
S eele, is s agge ing, leading o a ho oughly di e en pe cep ion o he meaning
and impo o he ex by he hea e . O e en mo e ele ance o us is he ac ha
S eele desc ibes he s yle in which he had chosen o no e he speech as ha o
“a an ing ac o ” – his ph ase ee ily esona es wi h Paine’s iew o Bu ke’s one
in Re lec ions.
Ye such an elabo a e sys em o symbols as ha de ised by S eele, ingenious
as i was, was unlikely o ake hold, and i ailed o do so. A simple , and ul ima ely
mo e p omising, ou e o achie e he same esul was h ough he p ope use o
punc ua ion, a opic o which con empo a y g amma s de o ed whole chap e s,
as in Robe Low h’s A Sho In oduc ion o English G amma (1761), o Daniel
Fenning’s New G amma o he English Language (1771).14 A la ge numbe o
ea ises on his speci ic subjec we e also published o e he same pe iod, such as
James Bu ow’s Essay on Punc ua ion (1772) and Joseph Robe son’s book o he
same i le (1785).
The s anda d iew was ha punc ua ion played a majo ole in cla i ying he
g amma ical and logical s uc u e o a ex . I could be easily shown ha aul y
punc ua ion could and did lead o pa icula ly absu d sen ences and s a emen s,
which could be easily ec i ied by placing punc ua ion in he igh place. Bu
beyond he g amma ical heo y o punc ua ion, i is he o he unc ion o “poin ing”
ha a ac ed e en mo e in e es : punc ua ion as an indica ion o du a ion,
p opo ion be ween he pa s o speech, and c ucially, o emo ion. A en ion o
hese ea u es ep esen s a s iking easse ion and de elopmen o he olde ,
he o ical heo y o punc ua ion.15
Bu ow, o example, a gued:
Some People indeed speak apidly; some, slowly; some make many Pauses;
some, ewe ; some, longe ; some, sho e : Bu his makes no Di e ence
wi h ega d o he Facili y o Poin ing; because he PROPORTION be ween
he pauses will no be he eby al e ed; and he whole a ai o Poin ing is
o ma k hose P opo ions upon Pape , con o mably o he Pauses eally made
and he P opo ion eally obse ed be ween hem in ac ual P onuncia ion.16
14 Fo an o e iew o la e eigh een h-cen u y and ea ly nine een h-cen u y linguis ic heo ies,
see Oli ia Smi h, The Poli ics o Language 1791-1819 (Ox o d: Cla endon P ess, 1984).
15 Thus e e sing he shi cha ed by Neil Rhodes in he six een h cen u y, om a
p edominan ly he o ical o a logical unc ion o punc ua ion: Neil Rhodes,
“Punc ua ion as Rhe o ical No a ion? F om Colon o Semicolon,” Hun ing on Lib a y
Qua e ly 82, no. 1 (2019): 87-106. Fo a global his o y o punc ua ion, see M.B. Pa kes,
Pause and E ec : A His o y o Punc ua ion in he Wes (Alde sho : Scola P ess, 1992).
16 James Bu ow, De Ra ione e Usu In e pungendi: An Essay on Punc ua ion (London: B.
To ey, 1772), 9.

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Theo is s such as Fenning e en a emp ed o quan i y he du a ion o e e y
symbol: his o en ook he o m o a ques ion-and-answe session be ween he
ins uc o and his cha ge, on he model o a ca echism:
Q. How long should we s op a a Comma?
A. As long as we can coun one.
Q. How long should we s op a a Semicolon?
A. As long as we can coun wo.
Q. How long should we s op a a Colon?
A. As long as we can coun h ee.
Q. How long should we s op a a Pe iod, o Full S op?
A. As long as we can coun ou .17
Wha makes he pic u e e en mo e complex, howe e , is he exis ence o
symbols mean o exp ess emo ions, bu in such a b oad, gene al way ha
in e p e ing hei ac ual meaning depends on he con ex , and on he way he
eade s make sense o wha hey ead. The bes ins ance o his is he exclama ion
ma k. This Jack-o -all- ades o punc ua ion can be endowed wi h such a as
a ay o meanings ha i is he mos ambiguous o all, open o he mos widely
di e ging in e p e a ions:
The la e [EXCLAMATIONIS No a] is used, he says, o exp ess a ious
A ec ions, each o which migh pe haps seem o dese e a pa icula dis inc
Ma k (peculia e signum) i i could be con enien ly so con i ed: And he
gi es se e al Examples ( om Tully) o se e al di e en Kinds o
Exclama ion a p esen exp essed by he same Ma k; iz. Admi a ion,
Wishing, G ie , Pi y, Indigna ion, Con emp , and Snee .18
The ambigui y o exclama ion lies in he ac ha al hough i is i s and
o emos “ he oice o na u e, when she is agi a ed, amazed, o anspo ed,”19
when o e -used i becomes he e y opposi e, a su e index o alse, unna u al
eelings and me e iciousness. W i e s, and young w i e s in pa icula , we e
he e o e s ongly u ged o e ain om indulging in he use o exclama ion
ma ks, a sign o bad as e and poo judgmen : “On his occasion, i may no be
17 Daniel Fenning, A New G amma o he English Language; o An Easy In oduc ion o he A o
Speaking and w i ing English wi h P op ie y and Co ec ness (London: S. C owde , 1771), 156.
18 Bu ow, Essay on Punc ua ion, 20-21.
19 Joseph Robe son, An Essay on Punc ua ion (London: J. Wal e , 1785), 103.
“The spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion”
73
imp ope o cau ion he young and inexpe ienced w i e agains he immode a e
use o exclama ions. Whene e we see a page in p ose, p o usely in e spe sed wi h
poin s o admi a ion, we gene ally ind i ull o unna u al e e ies, an s, and
bombas .”20
The “ an ” and “bombas ” o which Robe son e e s emind us o he “s ile o
he an ing ac o ” desc ibed by S eele, which goes ye again o show ha he
eading o a ex is o be unde s ood in e ms o pe o mance. The e is some hing
inhe en ly hea ical abou eading, be i o onesel o o o he s. The bane o
‘ hea icali y’ a ec s mo e pa icula ly he “public declama ion” o ex s; his is
he pi all o be a oided, he heigh o a ec a ion and unna u alness. A main
ea u e o hea ical declama ion is he high pi ch wi h which a speech is o ally
deli e ed, wi h he unpleasan au al e ec his has on he audience:
Mos pe sons, h o’ wan o skill and p ac ice, when hey ead o speak in
public, all in o one o he ex emes. Ei he h o’ imidi y and di idence
hey use he low pi ch, in which hey a e no hea d a all, o wi h so much
ouble o he lis ene , as soon o wea y a en ion; o i hey aim a a oiding
his aul , hey un in o he high pi ch; which is p oduc i e o consequences
equally bad.21
The cha ge has a ing o amilia i y o i . This is exac ly he ep oach ha was
le elled a Bu ke, in sca hing e ms, by Ma y Wolls onec a in he esponse o
Re lec ions: “E en he Ladies, Si , may epea you sp igh ly sallies, and e ail in
hea ical a i udes many o you pa he ic exclama ions.”22 Paine’s “ hea ical
ep esen a ion” di ec ly echoes Wolls onec a ’s “ hea ical a i udes,” a no ion
ha is u he elabo a ed on in his o he well-known passage om Righ s o Man:
He is no a ec ed by he eali y o dis ess ouching his hea , bu by he
showy esemblance o i s iking his imagina ion. He pi ies he plumage,
bu o ge s he dying bi d. Accus omed o kiss he a is oc a ical hand ha
ha h pu loined him om himsel , he degene a es in o a composi ion o a ,
and he genuine soul o na u e o sakes him. His he o o his he oine mus
20 Robe son, Essay on Punc ua ion, 113.
21 Thomas She idan, A Cou se o Lec u es on Elocu ion: Toge he wi h Two Disse a ions on
Language; and Some O he T ac s Rela i e o hose Subjec s (London: J. Dodsley, 1787), 104.
22 Ma y Wolls onec a , A Vindica ion o he Righ s o Men, in a Le e o he Righ Honou able
Edmund Bu ke; Occasioned by His Re lec ions on he Re olu ion in F ance (London: J.
Johnson, 1790), 5. In he second edi ion, published he same yea , “sen imen al
exclama ions” is subs i u ed o “pa he ic exclama ions.”
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be a agedy- ic im expi ing in show, and no he eal p isone o mise y,
sliding in o dea h in he silence o a dungeon.23
We should be wa y o aking such asse ions a ace alue, o o aking i o
g an ed ha Paine’s oice is pu ely ha o na u e, eason and common sense, as
opposed o Bu ke’s supposed a i iciali y and hea icali y. I is a classic case o he
po calling he ke le black; as Jay Fliegleman igh ly a gues, “one man’s
hea icali y was ano he ’s oice o na u e.”24 As hea icals go, Paine’s “p isone
o mise y, sliding in o dea h in he silence o a dungeon” is no less melod ama ic
han any hing in Bu ke – and Paine ce ainly knew how o play wi h alli e a ions
o inc ease he pa hos o he scene.
To e u n o ou s a ing poin , Paine’s ph ase, “ he spou ing an o high-
oned exclama ion,” he e o e has a clea ances y. I is deeply oo ed in
con empo a y e lec ions on elocu ion, and on eading as pe o mance. I cas s
Bu ke in he pe sona o he ham ac o ; e e y single wo d o he ph ase is a blow
agains a pa icula aspec o Bu ke’s s ance: his deli e y is declama o y,
bombas ic, melod ama ic and ul ima ely oid o meaning (“spou ing an ”25); i is
sh ill and high-pi ched, an a i icial dis o ion o he oice ha is an a on o
na u e and an assaul on he hea ing o he audience (“high- oned”). As o
“exclama ion,” he e m poin s bo h o an exagge a ed one o deli e y which
canno be sus ained o any leng h o ime, and o he exclama ion ma ks ha a e
mean o signal o he eade in wha way Bu ke’s wo ds a e o be in e p e ed. The
en i e pa ag aph, culmina ing in his inal ph ase, is p ecisely calcula ed “ o wo k
23 Paine, Righ s o Man, 24.
24 Fliegelman, Decla ing Independence, 79.
25 The Ox o d English Dic iona y Online (www.oed.com) supplies he ollowing de ini ions:
“spou , . ( igu a i e): 4.a. ansi i e. To u e (wo ds, a speech, e c.) o exp ess ( iews o
ideas) in a leng hy o declama o y way, o wi hou hough o e lec ion; (also simply)
o eci e (a passage, quo a ion, e c.). Also wi h ou .
4.b. in ansi i e. To speak in a leng hy o declama o y way, o wi hou hough o
e lec ion; o speechi y; o p a le.”
“ an , .: 1.a. in ansi i e. To alk o declaim in an ex a agan o hype bolical manne ;
o use bombas ic language; (esp. o an ac o ) o o a e o speak in a melod ama ic o
g andiose s yle. Now chie ly dep ecia i e.”
“ an , n.: 2.a. An ex a agan , bombas ic, o declama o y speech o u e ance; (now esp.)
a long, ang y, o impassioned speech; a i ade.
3.a. Hype bolical, declama o y, o bombas ic language o sen imen s; ex a agan ,
emp y declama ion.
3.b. Chie ly dep ecia i e. Used o ac o s o public speake s: a declama o y way o speaking;
melod ama ic, g andiose, o bombas ic o a ion o deli e y.”
“The spou ing an o high- oned exclama ion”
75
upon [ he imagina ion] o his [Paine’s] eade s,” conju ing up a men al image o
Bu ke as a cha la an whose e lec ions (bo h wi h a small and a capi al ‘ ’) a e
disc edi ed e en be o e hey a e conside ed and weighed, on accoun o hei
manne o deli e y. Paine’s s a egy consis s in “[ele a ing] he pe o ma i e
aspec o speech o e he a gumen a i e,”26 by a uning in ad ance his eade s’
ea s o lis en o Bu ke’s own wo ds in a ce ain way. By s aging an o al/au al
pe o mance o Bu ke’s ex , he simul aneously unde mines i s au ho i y, and ha
o i s au ho .
Once he eade s/ spec a o s/ hea e s ha e been wa med up, and jus as hey
ha e been made o expec o hea Bu ke’s “spou ing an ,” Paine li s he cu ain
and allows Bu ke, o pe haps a he his puppe , o speak in his own wo ds:
When we see a man d ama ically lamen ing in a publica ion in ended o be
belie ed, ha , “The age o chi al y is gone! ha The glo y o Eu ope is
ex inguished o e e ! ha The unbough g ace o li e (i any one knows wha i
is), he cheap de ence o na ions, he nu se o manly sen imen and he oic
en e p ize, is gone!” and all his because he Quixo age o chi al y nonsense
is gone, wha opinion can we o m o his judgmen , o wha ega d can we
pay o his ac s? In he hapsody o his imagina ion, he has disco e ed a
wo ld o windmills, and his so ows a e, ha he e a e no Quixo s o a ack
hem. Bu i he age o a is oc acy, like ha o chi al y, should all, and hey
had o iginally some connec ion, M . Bu ke, he umpe e o he O de ,
may con inue his pa ody o he end, and inish wi h exclaiming – “O hello’s
occupa ion’s gone!”27
Bu ke’s puppe is no alone on he s age. Like a en iloquis holding up Bu ke’s
dummy and p e ending o speak wi h Bu ke’s oice, Paine is he e all along,
making un o Bu ke’s p e ensions (“a publica ion in ended o be belie ed”),
ace iously nudging and winking a he audience o gi e hem he cue when i is
ime o a good laugh (“i anyone knows wha i is”), ne e le ing go o make su e
his eade s/lis ene s a e i mly kep on (his) side. Bu ke is indeed quo ed, bu he
ew, i alicized, sen ences his en iloquizing igu e is allowed o say a e squeezed
in o he unin e up ed low o Paine’s sa casms, and o op i all, he exclama ion
ma ks signal his sen ences as he sh ill u e ances o a se e ely de anged mind.
As has been s a ed ea lie , exclama ion ma ks a e in hemsel es ambiguous,
no ied o any speci ic meaning. In his ins ance, he e is ha dly any ambigui y
26 Fliegelman, Decla ing Independence, 30.
27 Paine, Righ s o Man, 22.