The semicolon represents a pause of greater importance than that shown by the comma.

The semicolon is used to separate a series of loosely connected clauses.

• The giraffe is an ungainly animal; it has a long neck.
• Her heart was pure; her life serene.
• Columbus was a great navigator; he knew the world was round.

Notes
The semicolon connects two complete sentences when they are too closely related to be separated by a full stop.

Related posts:

1. Punctuation – Full Stop