# Punctuation and Capitalization of Dialogue Tags

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-and-capitalization-of-dialogue-tags/440259>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [March 6, 2008, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-and-capitalization-of-dialogue-tags/440259 "2008-03-06T00:13:26Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Page:** 2

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [December 9, 2009, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-and-capitalization-of-dialogue-tags/440259/21 "2009-12-09T03:50:45Z")

</div>

> [@Polycarp](#):
>
> _“Come here, Alan Quatermain,” She said with a sultry air._

I would change that to:

“Come here, Alan Quatermain,” said She with a sultry air."

Or perhaps Appletonization would make it even better.

“Come here, Alan Quatermain,” She said sultrily."

I wish.

Nothing is ever attributed to She, but always to Ayesha. And she never says anything sultrily, but talks like this:

> [@](#):
>
> “Hast thou aught to say, woman? Thou silly straw, thou feather, who didst think to float towards thy passion’s petty ends, even against the great wind of my will! Tell me, for I fain would understand. Why didst thou this thing?”

Worse, Haggard was the kind of writer whose characters ejaculated with regularity. But unfortunately not in Ayesha’s boudoir.

[Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/punctuation-and-capitalization-of-dialogue-tags/440259.md?page=1)