Type in the content of your new page here. Zack Smith Per. 6 Rhetorical Devices Zeugma includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech. Thus examples of zeugmatic usage would include one subject with two (or more) verbs, a verb with two (or more) direct objects, two (or more) subjects with one verb, and so forth. The main benefit of the linking is that it shows relationships between ideas and actions more clearly. In one form (prozeugma), the yoking word precedes the words yoked. So, for example, you could have a verb stated in the first clause understood in the following clauses:
Pride opresseth humility; hatred love; cruelty compassion. --Peacham
Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.
Alexander conquered the world; I, Minneapolis.
A more important version of this form (with its own name, diazeugma) is the single subject with multiple verbs:
. . . It operated through the medium of unconscious self-deception and terminated in inveterate avarice. --Thomas Love Peacock
Mr. Glowry held his memory in high honor, and made a punchbowl of his skull. --Ibid.
This terrace . . . took in an oblique view of the open sea, and fronted a long track of level sea-coast . . . . --Ibid.
Fluffy rolled on her back, raised her paws, and meowed to be petted.
Notice that two or three verb phrases are the usual proportion. But if you have a lot to say about the actions of the subject, or if you want to show a sort of multiplicity of behavior or doings, you can use several verbs:
When at Nightmare Abbey, he would condole with Mr. Glowry, drink Madeira with Scythrop, crack jokes with Mr. Hilary, hand Mrs. Hilary to the piano, take charge of her fan and gloves, and turn over her music with surprising dexterity, quote Revelations with Mr. Toobad, and lament the good old times of feudal darkness with the Transcendental Mr. Flosky. --Thomas Love Peacock
Two or more subordinate relative pronoun clauses can be linked prozeugmatically, with the noun becoming the yoking word:
His father, to comfort him, read him a Commentary on Ecclesiastes, which he had himself composed, and which demonstrated incontrovertibly that all is vanity. --Thomas Love Peacock
O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! --Richard de Bury
You could have two or more direct objects:
With one mighty swing he knocked the ball through the window and two spectators off their chairs.
He grabbed his hat from the rack in the closet, his gloves from the table near the door, and his car keys from the punchbowl.
Or a preposition with two objects:
Mr. Glowry was horror-struck by the sight of a round, ruddy face, and a pair of laughing eyes. --Thomas Love Peacock
Sometimes you might want to create a linkage in which the verb must be understood in a slightly different sense:
He grabbed his hat from the rack by the stairs and a kiss from the lips of his wife.
He smashed the clock into bits and his fist through the wall.
In hypozeugma the yoking word follows the words it yokes together. A common form is multiple subjects:
Hours, days, weeks, months, and years do pass away. --Sherry
The moat at its base, and the fens beyond comprised the whole of his prospect. --Peacock
To generate that much electricity and to achieve that kind of durability would require a completely new generator design.
It is possible also to hold off a verb until the last clause:
The little baby from his crib, the screaming lady off the roof, and the man from the flooded basement were all rescued.
Hypozeugma can be used with adjectives or adjective phrases, too. Here, Peacock uses two participial phrases, one past and one present:
Disappointed both in love and in friendship, and looking upon human learning as vanity, he had come to a conclusion that there was but one good thing in the world, videlicet, a good dinner . . . .
The utility of the zeugmatic devices lies partly in their economy (for they save repetition of subjects or verbs or other words), and partly in the connections they create between thoughts. The more connections between ideas you can make in an essay, whether those connections are simple transitional devices or more elaborate rhetorical ones, the fewer your reader will have to guess at, and therefore the clearer your points will be. Antithesis establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Human beings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas:
To err is human; to forgive, divine. --Pope
That short and easy trip made a lasting and profound change in Harold's outlook.
That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. --Neil Armstrong
Antithesis can convey some sense of complexity in a person or idea by admitting opposite or nearly opposite truths:
Though surprising, it is true; though frightening at first, it is really harmless.
If we try, we might succeed; if we do not try, we cannot succeed.
Success makes men proud; failure makes them wise.
Antithesis, because of its close juxtaposition and intentional contrast of two terms or ideas, is also very useful for making relatively fine distinctions or for clarifying differences which might be otherwise overlooked by a careless thinker or casual reader:
In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. --Samuel Johnson
The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. --Matt. 23:2-3 (RSV)
I agree that it is legal; but my question was, Is it moral?
The advertisement indeed says that these shoes are the best, but it means that they are equal; for in advertising "best" is a parity claim and only "better" indicates superiority.
Note also that short phrases can be made antithetical:
Every man who proposes to grow eminent by learning should carry in his mind, at once, the difficulty of excellence and the force of industry; and remember that fame is not conferred but as the recompense of labor, and that labor, vigorously continued, has not often failed of its reward. --Samuel Johnson
Chiasmus might be called "reverse parallelism," since the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order. Instead of an A,B structure (e.g., "learned unwillingly") paralleled by another A,B structure ("forgotten gladly"), the A,B will be followed by B,A ("gladly forgotten"). So instead of writing, "What is learned unwillingly is forgotten gladly," you could write, "What is learned unwillingly is gladly forgotten." Similarly, the parallel sentence, "What is now great was at first little," could be written chiastically as, "What is now great was little at first." Here are some examples:
He labors without complaining and without bragging rests.
Polished in courts and hardened in the field, Renowned for conquest, and in council skilled. --Joseph Addison
For the Lord is a Great God . . . in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are his also. --Psalm 95:4
Chiasmus is easiest to write and yet can be made very beautiful and effective simply by moving subordinate clauses around:
If you come to them, they are not asleep; if you ask and inquire of them, they do not withdraw themselves; they do not chide if you make mistakes; they do not laugh at you if you are ignorant. --Richard de Bury
Prepositional phrases or other modifiers can also be moved around to form chiastic structures. Sometimes the effect is rather emphatic:
Tell me not of your many perfections; of your great modesty tell me not either.
Just as the term "menial" does not apply to any honest labor, so no dishonest work can be called "prestigious."
At other times the effect is more subdued but still desirable. Compare the versions of these sentences, written first in chiastic and then in strictly parallel form. Which do you like better in each case?
On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then it had a flat on the way home.
On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then on the way home it had a flat.
Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but they said nothing at all sitting in the dentist's office.
Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but sitting in the dentist's office, they said nothing at all.
The computer mainframe is now on sale; available also at a discount is the peripheral equipment.
The computer mainframe is now on sale; the peripheral equipment is also available at a discount.
Chiasmus may be useful for those sentences in which you want balance, but which cannot be paralleled effectively, either because they are too short, or because the emphasis is placed on the wrong words. And sometimes a chiastic structure will just seem to "work" when a parallel one will not. Litotes, a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement, or becomes an intensifying expression. Compare the difference between these statements:
Heat waves are common in the summer.
Heat waves are not rare in the summer.
Johnson uses litotes to make a modest assertion, saying "not improperly" rather than "correctly" or "best":
This kind of writing may be termed not improperly the comedy of romance. . . .
Occasionally a litotic construction conveys an ironic sentiment by its understatement:
We saw him throw the buckets of paint at his canvas in disgust, and the result did not perfectly represent his subject, Mrs. Jittery.
Usually, though, litotes intensifies the sentiment intended by the writer, and creates the effect of strong feelings moderately conveyed.
Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good.
If you can tell the fair one's mind, it will be no small proof of your art, for I dare say it is more than she herself can do. --Alexander Pope
A figure lean or corpulent, tall or short, though deviating from beauty, may still have a certain union of the various parts, which may contribute to make them on the whole not unpleasing. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
He who examines his own self will not long remain ignorant of his failings.
Overall the flavors of the mushrooms, herbs, and spices combine to make the dish not at all disagreeable to the palate.
But note that, as George Orwell points out in "Politics and the English Language," the "not un-" construction (for example, "not unwilling") should not be used indiscriminately. Rather, find an opposite quality which as a word is something other than the quality itself with an "un" attached. For instance, instead of, "We were not unvictorious," you could write, "We were not defeated," or "We did not fail to win," or something similar.
Zack Smith
Per. 6
Rhetorical Devices
Zeugma includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech. Thus examples of zeugmatic usage would include one subject with two (or more) verbs, a verb with two (or more) direct objects, two (or more) subjects with one verb, and so forth. The main benefit of the linking is that it shows relationships between ideas and actions more clearly.
In one form (prozeugma), the yoking word precedes the words yoked. So, for example, you could have a verb stated in the first clause understood in the following clauses:
- Pride opresseth humility; hatred love; cruelty compassion. --Peacham
- Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.
- Alexander conquered the world; I, Minneapolis.
A more important version of this form (with its own name, diazeugma) is the single subject with multiple verbs:- . . . It operated through the medium of unconscious self-deception and terminated in inveterate avarice. --Thomas Love Peacock
- Mr. Glowry held his memory in high honor, and made a punchbowl of his skull. --Ibid.
- This terrace . . . took in an oblique view of the open sea, and fronted a long track of level sea-coast . . . . --Ibid.
- Fluffy rolled on her back, raised her paws, and meowed to be petted.
Notice that two or three verb phrases are the usual proportion. But if you have a lot to say about the actions of the subject, or if you want to show a sort of multiplicity of behavior or doings, you can use several verbs:- When at Nightmare Abbey, he would condole with Mr. Glowry, drink Madeira with Scythrop, crack jokes with Mr. Hilary, hand Mrs. Hilary to the piano, take charge of her fan and gloves, and turn over her music with surprising dexterity, quote Revelations with Mr. Toobad, and lament the good old times of feudal darkness with the Transcendental Mr. Flosky. --Thomas Love Peacock
Two or more subordinate relative pronoun clauses can be linked prozeugmatically, with the noun becoming the yoking word:- His father, to comfort him, read him a Commentary on Ecclesiastes, which he had himself composed, and which demonstrated incontrovertibly that all is vanity. --Thomas Love Peacock
- O books who alone are liberal and free, who give to all who ask of you and enfranchise all who serve you faithfully! --Richard de Bury
You could have two or more direct objects:- With one mighty swing he knocked the ball through the window and two spectators off their chairs.
- He grabbed his hat from the rack in the closet, his gloves from the table near the door, and his car keys from the punchbowl.
Or a preposition with two objects:- Mr. Glowry was horror-struck by the sight of a round, ruddy face, and a pair of laughing eyes. --Thomas Love Peacock
Sometimes you might want to create a linkage in which the verb must be understood in a slightly different sense:- He grabbed his hat from the rack by the stairs and a kiss from the lips of his wife.
- He smashed the clock into bits and his fist through the wall.
In hypozeugma the yoking word follows the words it yokes together. A common form is multiple subjects:- Hours, days, weeks, months, and years do pass away. --Sherry
- The moat at its base, and the fens beyond comprised the whole of his prospect. --Peacock
- To generate that much electricity and to achieve that kind of durability would require a completely new generator design.
It is possible also to hold off a verb until the last clause:- The little baby from his crib, the screaming lady off the roof, and the man from the flooded basement were all rescued.
Hypozeugma can be used with adjectives or adjective phrases, too. Here, Peacock uses two participial phrases, one past and one present:- Disappointed both in love and in friendship, and looking upon human learning as vanity, he had come to a conclusion that there was but one good thing in the world, videlicet, a good dinner . . . .
The utility of the zeugmatic devices lies partly in their economy (for they save repetition of subjects or verbs or other words), and partly in the connections they create between thoughts. The more connections between ideas you can make in an essay, whether those connections are simple transitional devices or more elaborate rhetorical ones, the fewer your reader will have to guess at, and therefore the clearer your points will be.Antithesis establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure. Human beings are inveterate systematizers and categorizers, so the mind has a natural love for antithesis, which creates a definite and systematic relationship between ideas:
- To err is human; to forgive, divine. --Pope
- That short and easy trip made a lasting and profound change in Harold's outlook.
- That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. --Neil Armstrong
Antithesis can convey some sense of complexity in a person or idea by admitting opposite or nearly opposite truths:- Though surprising, it is true; though frightening at first, it is really harmless.
- If we try, we might succeed; if we do not try, we cannot succeed.
- Success makes men proud; failure makes them wise.
Antithesis, because of its close juxtaposition and intentionalcontrast of two terms or ideas, is also very useful for making relatively fine distinctions or for clarifying differences which might be otherwise overlooked by a careless thinker or casual reader:
- In order that all men may be taught to speak truth, it is necessary that all likewise should learn to hear it. --Samuel Johnson
- The scribes and Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; so practice and observe whatever they tell you, but not what they do; for they preach, but do not practice. --Matt. 23:2-3 (RSV)
- I agree that it is legal; but my question was, Is it moral?
- The advertisement indeed says that these shoes are the best, but it means that they are equal; for in advertising "best" is a parity claim and only "better" indicates superiority.
Note also that short phrases can be made antithetical:- Every man who proposes to grow eminent by learning should carry in his mind, at once, the difficulty of excellence and the force of industry; and remember that fame is not conferred but as the recompense of labor, and that labor, vigorously continued, has not often failed of its reward. --Samuel Johnson
Chiasmus might be called "reverse parallelism," since the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order. Instead of an A,B structure (e.g., "learned unwillingly") paralleled by another A,B structure ("forgotten gladly"), the A,B will be followed by B,A ("gladly forgotten"). So instead of writing, "What is learned unwillingly is forgotten gladly," you could write, "What is learned unwillingly is gladly forgotten." Similarly, the parallel sentence, "What is now great was at first little," could be written chiastically as, "What is now great was little at first." Here are some examples:- He labors without complaining and without bragging rests.
- Polished in courts and hardened in the field, Renowned for conquest, and in council skilled. --Joseph Addison
- For the Lord is a Great God . . . in whose hand are the depths of the earth; the peaks of the mountains are his also. --Psalm 95:4
Chiasmus is easiest to write and yet can be made very beautiful and effective simply by moving subordinate clauses around:- If you come to them, they are not asleep; if you ask and inquire of them, they do not withdraw themselves; they do not chide if you make mistakes; they do not laugh at you if you are ignorant. --Richard de Bury
Prepositional phrases or other modifiers can also be moved around to form chiastic structures. Sometimes the effect is rather emphatic:- Tell me not of your many perfections; of your great modesty tell me not either.
- Just as the term "menial" does not apply to any honest labor, so no dishonest work can be called "prestigious."
At other times the effect is more subdued but still desirable. Compare the versions of these sentences, written first in chiastic and then in strictly parallel form. Which do you like better in each case?- On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then it had a flat on the way home.
- On the way to school, my car ran out of gas; then on the way home it had a flat.
- Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but they said nothing at all sitting in the dentist's office.
- Sitting together at lunch, the kids talked incessantly; but sitting in the dentist's office, they said nothing at all.
- The computer mainframe is now on sale; available also at a discount is the peripheral equipment.
- The computer mainframe is now on sale; the peripheral equipment is also available at a discount.
Chiasmus may be useful for those sentences in which you want balance, but which cannot be paralleled effectively, either because they are too short, or because the emphasis is placed on the wrong words. And sometimes a chiastic structure will just seem to "work" when a parallel one will not.Litotes, a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context of the usage, litotes either retains the effect of understatement, or becomes an intensifying expression. Compare the difference between these statements:
- Heat waves are common in the summer.
- Heat waves are not rare in the summer.
Johnson uses litotes to make a modest assertion, saying "not improperly" rather than "correctly" or "best":- This kind of writing may be termed not improperly the comedy of romance. . . .
Occasionally a litotic construction conveys an ironic sentiment by its understatement:- We saw him throw the buckets of paint at his canvas in disgust, and the result did not perfectly represent his subject, Mrs. Jittery.
Usually, though, litotes intensifies the sentiment intended by the writer, and creates the effect of strong feelings moderately conveyed.- Hitting that telephone pole certainly didn't do your car any good.
- If you can tell the fair one's mind, it will be no small proof of your art, for I dare say it is more than she herself can do. --Alexander Pope
- A figure lean or corpulent, tall or short, though deviating from beauty, may still have a certain union of the various parts, which may contribute to make them on the whole not unpleasing. --Sir Joshua Reynolds
- He who examines his own self will not long remain ignorant of his failings.
- Overall the flavors of the mushrooms, herbs, and spices combine to make the dish not at all disagreeable to the palate.
But note that, as George Orwell points out in "Politics and the English Language," the "not un-" construction (for example, "not unwilling") should not be used indiscriminately. Rather, find an opposite quality which as a word is something other than the quality itself with an "un" attached. For instance, instead of, "We were not unvictorious," you could write, "We were not defeated," or "We did not fail to win," or something similar.