Polysyndeton (Multiplication of Conjunctions) as a Rhetorical Figure of Speech

Lecture



Polysyndeton (also multi-conjunction, from Ancient Greek πολυσύνδετον «polysyndeton») — a stylistic figure consisting in the deliberate multiplication of conjunctions in a sentence, usually to link coordinate elements. By slowing speech down with forced pauses, polysyndeton emphasizes the role of each word, creating a sense of unity in enumeration and heightening the expressiveness of speech.

Examples

Before my eyes the ocean moved, and heaved, and roared, and flashed, and faded, and glowed, and receded somewhere into infinity

— V. G. Korolenko

I shall either burst into tears, or cry out, or fall into a faint

— A. P. Chekhov

And the waves crowd together, and rush back,
And come again and beat upon the shore…

— M. Yu. Lermontov. Ballad

But grandson, and great-grandson, and great-great-grandson
Grow within me, while I myself keep growing…

— P. G. Antokolsky

See Also

  • Asyndeton
Figures of Speech
Figures

Adynaton • Allusion • Amplification • Anadiplosis • Anacoluthon • Anaphora • Antithesis • Antitheton • Apocope • Apostrophe • Attraction • Asyndeton • Hyperbaton • Homeoteleuton • Gradation (Climax, Anticlimax) • Distinctio • Zeugma • Isocolon • Nominativus pendens • Inversion • Correctio • Mesarchia • Polyptoton • Polysyndeton • Oxymoron • Parallelism • Paronomasia • Parcellation • Periphrasis • Pleonasm • Prolepsis • Retardation • Rhetorical question • Rhetorical exclamation • Rhetorical address • Symploce • Solecism • Tautology • Exact repetition • Aposiopesis • Chiasmus • Exergasia • Ellipsis • Emphasis • Epiphora

Tropes

Allegory • Antiphrasis • Asteism • Antonomasia • Hyperbole • Dysphemism • Irony • Pun • Catachresis • Litotes • Meiosis • Metaphor • Metonymy • Personification • Pathos • Periphrasis • Sarcasm • Synecdoche • Simile • Euphemism • Epithet

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Lectures and tutorial on "Rhetoric"

Terms: Rhetoric