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Lines is a form of punishment handed out to misbehaving students by people in a position of authority (teachers, prefects etc...) at schools all across the world. Writing lines involves copying a sentence on to a piece of standard paper or a chalkboard as many times as the punishment-giver deems necessary. The actual sentence to be copied varies but usually bears some relation to the reason the lines are being given in the first place, e.g. "I must not talk in class."
Shortcuts
Many students use an alternative method to write their lines, thinking they are getting the task completed much quicker. Rather than writing the lines a sentence at a time, they will write them a word at a time. For example, for the line "I must not talk in class," the student would first write the word "I" down the left hand side of his paper. Once this is complete, he will then write "must" next to "I" to the bottom of the page. This is repeated until the lines are complete. Although this feels a lot quicker, obviously the same number of words are being written either way so in theory it should take just as long. However, it is possible that if a student believes the method is quicker, he will work harder anyway and thus finish more quickly than a student completing lines the conventional way. Many students actually do finish more quickly because they are able to write the words faster when writing the same one over and over. Another trick frequently used is the use of multiple writing implements.
Popular culture
- The most well-known use of lines in the media is in The Simpsons TV show. Each episode's opening sequence feature a different chalkboard gag, where Bart Simpson is writing humorous lines on the the chalkboard (such as "I will not teach others to fly") before being dismissed by the school bell.
- In Monty Python's Life of Brian, Brian is caught graffitiing Romanes eunt domus ("People called Romanes they go the house" [sic]) onto the wall of the palace. A centurion arrives who, instead of arresting him, corrects his faulty Latin grammar and tells him to write out the correct version Romani ite domum ("Romans, go home!") one hundred times.
- Writing lines as a punishment is mentioned in several Harry Potter books although in the 5th book, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, they are much more sinister: Dolores Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher punishes Harry to write "I must not tell lies",Harry asks her for ink but she only says that he would not need one. Harry, a little confused starts writing and first he think that the dark red ink coming from his pen is magical but he then notices that is his blood and that "I must not tell lies" is appearing as another scar in his hand.
- In Dexter's Laboratory's episode "Dexter Detention", Dexter and other four boys are sentenced to write on the chalkboard "I am a criminal" (one of the kids writes "I are a krimmenul" instead), and during the process Dexter sends an escape plan through Morse code.
