CHIASMUS ZEUGMA ASYNDETON POLYSYNDETON T J Robbie Connor

CHIASMUS, ZEUGMA, ASYNDETON, POLYSYNDETON T. J. , Robbie, Connor, Wesley

Chiasmus Definition: Meaning “crossed” in Greek, it is a structure that inverts two parallel phrases.

Chiasmus Examples: It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. A square is a rectangle, but a rectangle isn’t a square.

Chiasmus Activity: Which of the following has an example of chiasmus? To be or not to be? Do what you love, love what you do. The fire hose sprayed on, and extinguished the fire with its spraying.

Chiasmus Activity 2: Write your own example of chiasmus, or an example you have seen somewhere else.

ZEUGMA Definition: A purposeful literary situation where the same word is used the same way grammatically for two different objects, but each object’s relation to the verb gives it a different meaning. Zeugma originates from Ancient Greek “Zeugnunai, ” which meant “to yoke. ”

ZEUGMA Example: My mother roasted bell peppers for dinner, and me for not doing the dishes. In the 1800’s, schoolchildren dabbed to get ink for their pens, not for the meme.

ZEUGMA Activity! Yay! Which of the following has an example of zeugma? A: Food takes energy, energy takes food. B: As time went on, I grew melons, cucumbers, and disgusted with the idea of gardening. C: Were I to die, die I would. D: Kittens are dogs and scum.

Zeugma Write your own example of ZEUGMA.

Asyndeton Definition: Asyndeton (pronounced uh–sin-di-ton) is skipping one or more conjunctions (and, or, but, for, nor, so, yet) which are usually used in a series of phrases. Asyndeton is also known as asyndetism. This word is derived from the Greek phrase asyndetos meaning “unconnected. ”

Asyndeton Example: After seeing all the evidence, I agree. They disagree. Typically the sentence would be written as: “After seeing all the evidence, I agree, but they disagree. ” Removing the “but” dramatizes the difference of opinion.

Asyndeton Activity: Which of the following is an asyndeton? A. I see your point, and I understand. B. You win some, you lose some. C. He’s a very nice guy, but he’s a little too loud.

Asyndeton Write your own example of an asyndeton.

Polysyndeton Definition: A polysyndeton is a literary device that uses multiple repetitions of the same conjunction. (and, but, if, etc. ) Polysyndeton comes from Greek meaning many connected.

Polysyndeton Example: I cleaned the kitchen, and the bathroom, and the living room, and the attic. That’s a lot of cleaning!

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Polysyndeton Which sentence uses polysyndeton? A. I am afraid and scared, but also lonely. B. There are too many empty corn husks and too many full corn husks! C. If you cry, or laugh, or scream, or feel love, then you are weak.

Polysyndeton Write down your own example of a polysyndeton.