It’s possible you’ll be unfamiliar with the time period asyndeton, however you’ve seemingly heard or learn lots of of them. An asyndeton is a rhetorical and literary machine by which conjunctions between phrases or clauses are omitted.

Numerous authors, speechwriters, and playwrights have used asyndetons for hundreds of years. We’ll clarify how you need to use them in your writing and how one can pronounce the phrase, in addition to present well-known examples of asyndetons in literature.

What’s asyndeton?

Asyndeton is a literary machine by which conjunctions—corresponding to and, however, and or—are deliberately omitted to vary a sentence’s tone. Asyndeton, pronounced uh-sin-duh-tn, is an Historic Greek phrase meaning “unconnected.”

Asyndetons serve a number of capabilities in writing: to hurry up a speaker or author’s rhythm, change the tone of what’s being stated, and add emphasis.

Probably the most well-known asyndeton instance was stated by Julius Caesar following a fast battle his military received: “Veni, vidi, vici,” which interprets in English to “I got here, I noticed, I conquered.” The omission of a conjunction makes this quote concise, including emphasis and underlining the battle’s swiftness.

As a result of they’re used so as to add emphasis, asyndetons ought to be used sparingly in your writing. They could lose their impact if used too typically. Your writing may even begin wanting uneven. Keep in mind that conjunctions permit us to string collectively advanced ideas, and with out them, a reader might grow to be confused.

2 sorts of asyndeton

The 2 sorts of asyndetons are these used between phrases and phrases and people used between sentences or clauses.

Asyndeton between phrases and phrases

“Scale back, reuse, recycle” is an asyndeton used between phrases and phrases. One other instance is the favored motivational recommendation: “Dwell, snicker, love.” In these examples, asyndetons are used so as to add emphasis or to make the phrases simpler for individuals to recollect.

Asyndeton between sentences and clauses

There are lots of examples of asyndetons between sentences and clauses in William Shakespeare’s performs. They’re sometimes used to make the traces extra poetic by dashing up their rhythm or to underline feelings or themes.

For instance, a few of Iago’s first traces in act 1, scene 1, of Othello are asyndetons that emphasize his anger, a standard theme all through the play. “Name up her father. Rouse him. Make after him, Poison his delight, Proclaim him within the streets. Incense her kinsmen . . .”

Learn the passage with conjunctions in between every clause. Discover the way it sounds much less indignant?

How does asyndeton differ from syndeton?

An asyndeton omits conjunctions between phrases, phrases, or clauses, whereas a syndeton makes use of conjunctions to attach phrases or clauses. Syndeton comes from the Greek phrases sundeton and sundein, which suggests “a bond” and “to bind collectively,” respectively. In different phrases, a syndeton is the other of an asyndeton.

A group of phrases or clauses may be an asyndeton or a syndeton, relying on the author’s goal. Right here’s an instance.

Scale back, reuse, recycle.

Scale back, reuse, and recycle.

The primary instance is an asyndeton that’s used to make the phrases extra memorable within the hopes that individuals will produce much less waste. The second is extra direct and reads like a listing. Each are right, however asyndetons are typically simpler for most individuals to recollect and sound extra conversational than a listing or a syndeton.

There are additionally polysyndetons, or the repeated use of conjunctions to attach phrases or phrases. Polysyndetons decelerate the rhythm of a passage to make it extra memorable, much like asyndeton.

Polysyndetons will also be used to emphasize the significance of phrases or clauses. For instance:

“Neither snow nor rain nor warmth nor gloom of evening stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.”—US Postal Service creed

5 examples of asyndeton in literature

1
“It was one of the best of occasions, it was the worst of occasions, it was the age of knowledge, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of perception, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Mild, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.” —Charles Dickens, A Story of Two Cities

2
“The air was thick, heat, heavy, sluggish.” —Joseph Conrad, Coronary heart of Darkness

3
“‘O mighty Caesar! Dost thou lie so low? Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils shrunk to this little measure? Fare thee properly.’” —William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

4
“Consciousness of place got here ebbing again to him slowly over an unlimited tract of time unlit, unfelt, unlived. ” —James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Younger Man

5
“Chilly; tempest; wild beasts within the forest. It’s a exhausting life. Their homes are constructed of logs, darkish and smoky inside. There might be a crude icon of the virgin behind a guttering candle, the leg of a pig hung as much as treatment, a string of drying mushrooms. A mattress, a stool, a desk. Harsh, temporary, poor lives.” —Angela Carter, The Werewolf

Asyndeton FAQs

What’s asyndeton?

An asyndeton is a literary machine by which conjunctions—corresponding to and, however, and or—between phrases, phrases, or clauses are deliberately omitted whereas sustaining correct grammar. They’re used so as to add emphasis to what’s being stated, underline themes or feelings, and velocity up the rhythm.

How does asyndeton work?

An asyndeton works by including emphasis to what’s being stated by eradicating conjunctions, due to this fact dashing up the rhythm and making it extra memorable to the reader or listener.

What’s the distinction between asyndeton and syndeton?

An asyndeton is a bunch of phrases or clauses that aren’t linked by a conjunction, whereas a syndeton is a bunch of phrases or clauses linked by and, however, or or. A polysyndeton is a group of phrases or clauses linked by a number of conjunctions.