Polyptotons Never heard of these What are they

Polyptotons Never heard of these. What are they? Polyptoton is using a word which is similar twice but in different forms for example as as a noun and as a verb. Examples: 1. The bread rolled down the hill. 2. He waited impatiently in the waiting room. 3. Her ice-blue eyes eyed him coldly.

Polyptoton is used in popular songs eg. one by John Lennon (one of the Beatles in the 60 s) In the song “Please please me” (play it on youtube if you like), please is used twice but means something slightly different in each case. The first please means a polite “Will you”. . The second please means “make me happy”.

Interesting little fact: Apparently John Lennon became interested in this sort of word play from a song his mum sung: “Please lend a little ear to my pleas, lend a ray of cheer to my pleas”. Pleas here (without the “e”on the end) means urgent requests. Just shows how influential parents can be!

The words of the first man on the moon, Neil Armstrong, used polyptoton He said, “One small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind”. 1. He meant ……………………………. . 2. The word ……………… is repeated. 3. The first “man” means …………………… 4. The word “mankind” means…………………. . Interesting fact: his words are often quoted nowadays without the “a” in it. Apparently the “a” got cut out as the words coming over the radio from the moon got interrupted by radio static.

Shakespeare, one of England’s most famous playwrights, uses polyptoton “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds ” The words which are played on and echo each other are …………… and …………. . Which word is the verb? ………………… It means ……………………………………… Which word is the noun? ………………. It means…………………………………………. What do you think Shakespeare’s sentence above means? ……………………………………………………………. .

Spot the polyptotons – underline the examples. In a song from “Les Miserables” a character sings: “I dreamed a dream in times gone by, When hope was high and life worth living” (play it on youtube if you wish) and "To imagine the unimaginable is the highest use of the imagination. “ What do you think the 2 nd line above means?

So now I’ve talked the talk (note the polyptoton) over to you. Firstly complete the chart below Noun Verb the speed sped the light darkened Adjective Adverb speeding speedily stormy

But why use polyptotons? to emphasise an idea – make it more powerful eg. “The rain has rained for days” emphasises how wet the weather is (as it often is in Cumbria!)

Secondly make up 3 or more imaginative sentences using polyptotons You could use words from the chart you filled in to make some or come up with your own words which can be used in different forms eg. Her crying was a clear cry for help (which means her tears were an appeal for help) 1. 2. 3. A prize for the best one