Polysyndeton (pronounced as po-ly-sin-de-tahn) is a rhetorical device that is typically used for its rhythmic and other effects. Let's take a look at how Yeats uses it for instance:
Yeats, "Sailing to Byzantium" (1928):
Once out of nature I shall never take
My bodily form from any natural thing,
But such a form as Grecian goldsmiths make
Of hammered gold and gold enamelling
To keep a drowsy Emperor awake;
Or set upon a golden bough to sing
To lords and ladies of Byzantium
Of what is past, or passing, or to come.
Polysyndeton is used in the last line of the poem for its rhythmic effect and for the childlike wonder of the magico-religious fantasy being described by Yeats in this poem of leaving the physical world and serving in the spiritual world.
What is polysyndeton?
Polysyndeton refers to the repeated use of conjunctions. It can be used for several effects. Let’s look at an example below with Sylvia Plath, “Daddy” (1965):
But they pulled me out of the sack,
And they stuck me together with glue.
And then I knew what to do.
I made a model of you,
A man in black with a Meinkampf look
And a love of the rack and the screw.
And I said I do, I do.
So daddy, I’m finally through.
The black telephone’s off at the root,
The voices just can’t worm through.
Sylvia Plath uses polysyndeton here to create rhythm. This is important as the poetry of Sylvia Path is famous (or notorious) for being jerky and ineloquent. She gives the impression of a hysterical speaker who cannot keep a coherent train of thought.
The polysyndeton contributes significantly toward creating and supporting that impression. The speaker appears to be making things up as she goes along— which is one of the main effects of polysyndeton.
In this article, we discuss the effects of polysyndeton and provide numerous examples of this rhetorical device. Read on to learn more.
The uses and effects of polysyndeton
Polysyndeton has the following uses and effects:
1. It is used to create rhythm. For example, A and B and C has an obviously more rhythmic effect than A, B, C, and D.
2. To create the impression that the speaker is making things up as they go along. This was seen in the excerpt from the Plath poem.
3. Emphasize items in a series by separating them with and instead of commas.
4. Emphasize the large number of items in a series.
Examples of polysyndeton
Below are examples of polysyndeton.
Hawthorne, English Notebooks (1856):
We talked about the position of men of letters in England, and they said that the aristocracy hated and despised and feared them . . .
Dickens, A Christmas Carol (1843):
He went to church, and walked about the streets, and watched the people hurrying to and fro, and patted children on the head, and questioned beggars, and looked down into the kitchens of houses, and up to the windows, and found that everything could yield him pleasure.
Thoreau, Walden (1854):
Of a life of luxury the fruit is luxury, whether in agriculture, or commerce, or literature, or art.
Luke 17:27:
They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
Cite this EminentEdit article |
Antoine, M. (2024, September 21). Polysyndeton. https://www.eminentediting.com/post/polysyndeton |
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