Writing Help 129 | - Freelance Writer
Mar 26, 2013 | #1
Using Advanced Rhetorical Devices to Surprise and Delight
Have you ever thought about what your favorite rhetorical device is? I remember the first time I opened up a dictionary of literary terms and theory, and started reading through. I was fascinated by much of what I saw, but once I read and understood what syllepsis was, I had a moment of revelation, and must have said something like "So that's what it's called! I can't believe it has a name!" At this point, I knew I was destined to spend my life learning and teaching rhetoric; I also realized that I had finally crossed the fine line separating the socially tolerated academics from the outcast adult nerds. If you answered the question leading this article with anything but no, I am pleased to say that you are here on the other side of the line with me. Not to worry, though; if you are careful in public, you can still lead a productive happy life without moving to a cave in the Himalayas.
As you might have guessed, syllepsis is my favorite rhetorical device (though paralipsis is a close second), and the following example might help to explain why: "With one swift motion of his arm, Arnold killed the mood, as well as the waiter." As you might have been able to figure out from the example, syllepsis is a rhetorical device that uses one word to modify two or more others, usually nested in a parallel structure. In doing so, the words to be modified are often of different categories, so that the modifying word has to be understood in different ways to make sense. In the above example, we have the word killed modifying mood and waiter. In the first sense, the word kill must be understood figuratively as part of the idiomatic expression to kill the mood, which means to ruin the positive feeling or atmosphere of a given situation, like at a party or during a lovers' rendezvous. In the second sense, we can see that killed is used in a far more literal and direct way, as the same motion that spoils the party also ends up ending the life of the waiter (which would also serve to kill the mood of the party, of course). The comic effect here arises from the shocking way our expectations are set up and then defied. By using a parallel structure, the author makes us expect that the items set in parallel will be of the same class and stand in the same relation to the modifying word. By crushing this expectation through a witty kind of wordplay, we are surprised and perhaps (if we have a dark sense of humor in this case) amused.
Words with multiple meanings that have little if any relation to each other are tempting candidates for use in syllepsis, as we can see in the following example: "Sandy enjoyed a cool draught on her face, but she preferred it in her belly." Here, we can see draught being used first in the sense of breeze, and then in the sense of beer. This is a subtle example of clever punning, but beware - this is not an example of syllepsis! Syllepsis requires that one word be used to modify two or more words in different ways, and in this case, we do not have the necessary elements. Instead, we have one word, draught, being modified by two different prepositional phrases. This brings out the two senses of the word draught, but it fails to qualify as an example of the device in question.
Syllepsis
Have you ever thought about what your favorite rhetorical device is? I remember the first time I opened up a dictionary of literary terms and theory, and started reading through. I was fascinated by much of what I saw, but once I read and understood what syllepsis was, I had a moment of revelation, and must have said something like "So that's what it's called! I can't believe it has a name!" At this point, I knew I was destined to spend my life learning and teaching rhetoric; I also realized that I had finally crossed the fine line separating the socially tolerated academics from the outcast adult nerds. If you answered the question leading this article with anything but no, I am pleased to say that you are here on the other side of the line with me. Not to worry, though; if you are careful in public, you can still lead a productive happy life without moving to a cave in the Himalayas.
As you might have guessed, syllepsis is my favorite rhetorical device (though paralipsis is a close second), and the following example might help to explain why: "With one swift motion of his arm, Arnold killed the mood, as well as the waiter." As you might have been able to figure out from the example, syllepsis is a rhetorical device that uses one word to modify two or more others, usually nested in a parallel structure. In doing so, the words to be modified are often of different categories, so that the modifying word has to be understood in different ways to make sense. In the above example, we have the word killed modifying mood and waiter. In the first sense, the word kill must be understood figuratively as part of the idiomatic expression to kill the mood, which means to ruin the positive feeling or atmosphere of a given situation, like at a party or during a lovers' rendezvous. In the second sense, we can see that killed is used in a far more literal and direct way, as the same motion that spoils the party also ends up ending the life of the waiter (which would also serve to kill the mood of the party, of course). The comic effect here arises from the shocking way our expectations are set up and then defied. By using a parallel structure, the author makes us expect that the items set in parallel will be of the same class and stand in the same relation to the modifying word. By crushing this expectation through a witty kind of wordplay, we are surprised and perhaps (if we have a dark sense of humor in this case) amused.Words with multiple meanings that have little if any relation to each other are tempting candidates for use in syllepsis, as we can see in the following example: "Sandy enjoyed a cool draught on her face, but she preferred it in her belly." Here, we can see draught being used first in the sense of breeze, and then in the sense of beer. This is a subtle example of clever punning, but beware - this is not an example of syllepsis! Syllepsis requires that one word be used to modify two or more words in different ways, and in this case, we do not have the necessary elements. Instead, we have one word, draught, being modified by two different prepositional phrases. This brings out the two senses of the word draught, but it fails to qualify as an example of the device in question.