Using periods for emphasis

Factual Questions
1

There’s a punctuation style that seems to have appeared relatively recently where the writer puts a period (full stop) after each word in a sentence or phrase to indicate that each word is to be emphasized individually, with a short pause after each word. Often the words are also capitalized. Like

That was the Best. Concert. Ever.
Must. Stop. Eating. Now.
I am Really. Tired. Of. This. Affectation.

I think it’s trying to reproduce a verbal rhetorical style that I associate with Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons. My impression is the written form is fairly new; within the last 10 years or less. Is that accurate? Is it possible to identify a specific source of this style?

2

I thought accounts at the time of the “Read my lips. No. New. Taxes.” quote (1988) would have the periods but it doesn’t seem that way.

3

It might be from the Comic Book Guy, but it’s definitely older than 10 years; I found a 13 year old StackExchange thread asking about it. Which also speculated it was from the Comic Book Guy, but no one was sure.

4

TV Tropes page with examples:

Punctuated! For! Emphasis!

5

Worst. Hyperlink. Ever!

Try this one:

6

Top. Men.  

7

On the TV Trooes page, the written examples mostly don’t have dates, but HPatGoF was published in 2000.

And in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire when Hermione starts a PETA-style organization for house-elves and Ron is trying to talk Hermione out of it

“They. Like. It. They like being enslaved!”

8

Never. Use. Periods. For. Emphasis.

9

I know Harlan Ellison used it in the late ‘60s through the ‘70s and maybe longer… But. Never. To. Excess.

10

Just being a pest: shouldn’t that be HEAR!!! LINES. DELIVERED. ?

11

It’s two sentences (well, one sentence and one sentence fragment):

Describe! Punctuated! For! Emphasis! HERE!!!

LINES. DELIVERED. WITH. EXTREME! EMPHASIS! ON! EVERY! WORD! ESPECIALLY. THE. ENDING!!!

“Describe [trope] here” is a standard TV Tropes page opener.

12

Shouldn’t this thread have been titled

Using. Periods. For emphasis.

13

For. Emphasis.

(I mean, sheesh … )

14

A. Boy. And. His. Dog.

15

Methinks. The OP. Will. Regret. What. He. Hath. Wrought. :wink:

16

Iprefernottouseanyperiodsatall

Orevenspacesforthatmatter

mmm

17

On my first read of the title I thought it was asking about menstrual periods and relationship drama.

18

That. Is. Cold. :wink:.

19

Did a quick check on that list under Literature and the oldest might be James Agee’s A Death in the Family from 1957. But he used m-dashes.

One problem with TV Tropes is the fan base is quite nerdy and youngish so such lists skew towards more recent F&SF stuff.

20

I remember using this in high school papers in the 80s. It wasn’t new then.