In Bronte’s case, she may very well have been trying to convey a sense of breathlessness or enthusiasm since semicolons are often (and probably should be) read with less of a pause than a period.

If a character connects two closely-related independent clauses without a conjunction, then of course you can transcribe it with a semicolon. Similarly, if a character ends a sentence you should transcribe it with a period. You only think the two are different because you’ve decided that that the semi-colon is high-falutin while the period isn’t, but that’s your own problem.

This is why I think some people quite reasonably give up on the semi-colon, because teachers scold you for misuse of semi-colon, in situations where periods would have been acceptable. What’s the advantage of ever using a semi-colon, unless it means something different?

If it means something different from a period, and if there’s no verbal cue that perfectly communicates a semi-colon, then this is a case where written symbols can convey more meaning than speech, or different meaning. It might have begun with the purpose of capturing speech, but it can convey meanings that don’t match up with speech. For example, letters in different colors, different fonts, with weird poetic line breaks or indentation don’t necessarily capture or reflect speech. You can tell because it’s difficult to read them aloud and convey everything that’s on the page. E.E. Cummings might have intended to capture speech in his poems, but would it be possible to read one of his pieces aloud in such a way that everyone could transcribe it with the same indentations or white space or line breaks he used?

Now would it have been possible or appropriate for me to use a semi-colon after “breed” above?

Not really, as the concepts aren’t related closely enough. Here are two examples where the phrase after the semicolon either explains the part before it or explains why you should care about it. It’s a tight causal relationship.

http://boingboing.net/2012/12/01/bill-nye-tells-us-how-old-the.html#comment-725177638

http://boingboing.net/2012/11/28/32-signs-youre-dating-a-kee.html#comment-723233889

Now would it have been possible or appropriate for me to use a semi-colon after “breed” above? Would it mean something different than using a period?

I actually think “priapic” isn’t very obscure, because every kid enjoys looking up pee and poo and ding-a-ling and swear words in dictionaries & thesauruses.

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