re: #136 goddessoftheclassroom

I made up this grammar activity for my students. They have to analyze the first verse of the National Anthem, basically diagramming it and applying ALL the grammar skills I’ve taught and reviewed with them this year.

1. That the first word is “O,” not “Oh,” and that there is an important difference between the two.

While the official spelling is indeed “O” because that’s what Francis Scott Key happened to use, in this context wouldn’t “Oh” also be legitimate?

The “O” spelling is mandatory, or at least customary, when it’s used in English translations to represent the vocative case from other languages. (E.g., Pie Iesu Domine should be translated “O Faithful Lord Jesus,” and not “Oh, Faithful Lord Jesus,” because all three words are in the Latin vocative.) But I’m not sure whether Key intended the vocative or not.