A stylistic scheme in which conjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of related clauses ("I came, I saw, I conquered."). Its use has the effect of speeding up the rhythm of a passage and making a single idea more memorable
Aristotle wrote in his Rhetoric that this device was more effective in spoken oratories than in written prose:
- "Thus strings of unconnected words, and constant repetitions of words and phrases, are very properly condemned in written speeches: but not in spoken speeches -- speakers use them freely, for they have a dramatic effect. In this repetition there must be variety of tone, paving the way, as it were, to dramatic effect; e.g. 'This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely.'" Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book III, Chapter 12 (trans. W. Rhys Roberts).
Aristotle also believed that asyndeton can be used effectively in endings of works, and he himself employs the device in the final passage of the Rhetoric:
- "For the conclusion, the disconnected style of language is appropriate, and will mark the difference between the oration and the peroration. 'I have done. You have heard me. The facts are before you. I ask for your judgement.'" Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book III, Chapter 19 (trans. W. Rhys Roberts).
Several notable examples can be found in American political speeches:
- "...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.
Its opposite is polysyndeton.
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See Also
Last updated: 08-08-2005 12:25:09
