Zeugma

This article is about the rhetorical concept. For other uses, see Zeugma (disambiguation).

Zeugma (i/ˈzuːɡmə/ or /ˈzjuːɡmə/; from the Ancient Greek ζεῦγμα, zeûgma, lit. "a yoking together"[1]) and syllepsis (/sɪˈlɛpsɪs/; from the Ancient Greek σύλληψις, sullēpsis, lit. "a taking together"[2]) are figures of speech in which one single phrase or word joins different parts of a sentence.[3]

Definition

There are multiple and sometimes conflicting definitions for zeugma and syllepsis in current use. This article will categorize the figures into four types, based on four definitions.

Type 1

Grammatical Syllepsis (sometimes also called zeugma): where a single word is used in relation to two other parts of a sentence although the word grammatically or logically applies to only one.[4]

By definition, grammatical syllepsis will often be grammatically "incorrect" according to prescriptivist rules. However, such solecisms are sometimes not errors but intentional constructions in which the rules of grammar are bent by necessity or for stylistic effect.

This is ungrammatical from a prescriptive grammarian's viewpoint, because "works" does not grammatically agree with "I", i. e. the sentence "I works mine" would be ungrammatical.

Sometimes the "error" is logical, rather than grammatical:

Logically, they "saw" only the lightning.

Type 2

Zeugma (often also called syllepsis, or semantic syllepsis): where a single word is used with two other parts of a sentence but must be understood differently in relation to each.[5][6][7][8] This is also called "semantic syllepsis." Example: "He took his hat and his leave." This type of figure is not grammatically incorrect, but creates its effect by seeming at first hearing to be incorrect, by exploiting multiple shades of meaning in a single word or phrase.

When the meaning of a verb varies for the nouns following it, there is a standard order for the nouns. The standard order is first the noun taking the most prototypical or literal meaning of the verb, followed by the noun or nouns taking the less prototypical, or more figurative, verb meanings.

Type 3

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms offers a much broader definition for zeugma, describing a zeugma as any case of parallelism and ellipsis working together so that a single word governs two or more other parts of a sentence.[12]

The more usual way of phrasing this would be: "Lust conquered shame, audacity conquered fear, and madness conquered reason." This sentence consists or three parallel clauses, called parallel because each has the same word order – subject, verb, object. The verb "conquered" is a common element in each clause. The zeugma is created by removing the second and third instances of "conquered." The act of removing words that still can be understood in the context of the words that remain is called ellipsis.

The more usual way of phrasing this would be: "Histories make men wise, poets make them witty, the mathematics make them subtle, natural philosophy makes them deep, moral [philosophy] makes them grave, and logic and rhetoric make them able to contend."

Zeugmas are defined in this type 3 sense in Samuel Johnson's 18th-century Dictionary of the English Language.[14]

Type 4

A special case of semantic syllepsis occurs when a word or phrase is used both in its figurative and literal sense at the same time.[3] In this case, it is not necessary for the governing phrase to relate to two other parts of the sentence, for example in the song, "What's My Name?" Drake says, "Okay, there we go / Only thing we have on is the radio." Another example is in an advertisement for a transport company: "We go a long way for you." A syllepsis of this type is similar to a homonymic pun.

Other types, and related figures

There are several other definitions of zeugma, encompassing other ways in which one word in a sentence can relate to two or more others. Even a simple construction such as "this is easy and comprehensible" has been called[3] a "zeugma without complication," because "is" governs both "easy" and "comprehensible."

Specialized figures have been defined to distinguish zeugmas with particular characteristics, such as the following figures that relate to the specific type and location of the governing word:

Diazeugma

A diazeugma[15] is a zeugma where a single subject governs multiple verbs. A diazeugma where a single subject begins the sentence and controls a series of verbs was called a "disjunction" (disiunctio) in the Rhetorica ad Herennium.[16]

Hypozeugma

Hypozeugma[17] or "adjunctions" (adiunctio)[18] is used in a construction containing several phrases. It occurs when the word or words on which all of the phrases depend is placed last.

Prozeugma

A prozeugma,[20] synezeugmenon, or praeiunctio is a zeugma where the governing word occurs in the first clause of the sentence.[19]

Mesozeugma

A mesozeugma[21] is a zeugma where the governing word occurs in the middle of the sentence and governs clauses on either side. The form of mesozeugma where the common term is a verb is called "conjunction" (coniunctio) in the Roman Rhetorica ad Herennium.[16]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Liddell, H. G. & al. A Greek-English Lexicon. "ζεῦγμα". Perseus Project. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  2. ↑ Random House Dictionary. "Syllepsis". 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bernard Marie Dupriez (1991). A Dictionary of Literary Devices: Gradus, A-Z. University of Toronto Press. p. 440. ISBN 978-0-8020-6803-3. Retrieved 25 September 2013.
  4. ↑ Random House Dictionary. "Syllepsis". 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  5. ↑ Random House Dictionary. "Zeugma". 2013. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Oxford Dictionaries Online. "Zeugma". Oxford University Press. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  7. ↑ WordNet. "Zeugma". Princeton University Press. Retrieved 23 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Knapp, James F. The Norton Anthology of Poetry. "Glossary of Literary Terms". W. W. Norton & Co., 2005. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  9. ↑
      • Strauss, Emanuel (1994). Dictionary of European proverbs (Volume 2 ed.). Routledge. p. 661. ISBN 0415096243.
  10. ↑ Reported in Strauss, Emmanuel, Dictionary of European Proverbs (Routledge, 1998), ISBN 0415160502, p. 765.
  11. ↑ Shen, Yeshayahu (March 1998). "Zeugma: Prototypes, Categories, And Metaphors". Metaphor & Symbol 13 (1): 31–47. doi:10.1207/s15327868ms1301_3.
  12. ↑ Baldick, Chris. The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. "Zeugma". 2004.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Bacon, Francis (1601). "Of Studies".
  14. ↑ Johnson, Samuel. A Dictionary of the English Language. "Zeugma". 1755. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  15. ↑ Brigham Young Dictionary of Figures of Speech. "". Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 Rhetorica ad Herennium. IV. xxvii. Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  17. ↑ Brigham Young Dictionary of Figures of Speech. "". Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  18. ↑ Rhetorica ad Herennium
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 The intimate art of writing poetry - Ottone Riccio - Google Books. Prentice-Hall. Retrieved 12 May 2013.
  20. ↑ Brigham Young Dictionary of Figures of Speech. "". Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  21. ↑ Brigham Young Dictionary of Figures of Speech. "". Retrieved 13 May 2013.

External links

Look up zeugma or syllepsis in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.