Asyndeton
What is Asyndeton?
Types of Asyndeton
Asyndeton examples may be classified into two types
A. One type of asyndeton is used between words, phrases and a sentence.
Shrunk to this little measure?”
- (Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1 by William Shakespeare)
B. Second type is used between sentences or clauses.
- (Oedipus at Colonus by Sophecles)
Examples of Asyndeton from Literature
Example #1
IAGO
Call up her father.
Rouse him. Make after him, Poison his delight,
Proclaim him in the streets. Incense her kinsmen,
And, though he in a fertile climate dwell,
- (Othello by William Shakespeare)
In this extract, Shakespeare has eliminated conjunctions deliberately. There is shortage of “and, for, or, but” which are required to join the sentences. Due to this, the words have been emphasized and feelings of anger and jealousy are articulated explicitly.
Example #2
“Is whispering nothing?
Is leaning cheek to cheek? is meeting noses?
Kissing with inside lip? stopping the career
Of laughter with a sigh? (a note infallible
Of breaking honesty!) horsing foot on foot?…”
- (The Winter’s Tale by William Shakespeare)
In this excerpt, we can observe both types of asyndeton are employed. The first type (between the words) such as “from” is removed between the words “leaning” and “cheek” and similarly the second type (between the sentences) with the sentences not being joined by conjunctions.