Another question about a literary term

[Omphalos]

I got an answer so quickly last time, thought I'd ask another one.

What is the term used to describe when a speaker (could be a writer too, I believe) makes frequent use of the word "and" when describing things? That's kind of a broad question, so I'll refine it with an example. George Bush used to use this tactic all the time early on in his presidency to heighten drama when giving speeches. For example (not a quote, just me trying to be illustrative):

This new law will ease the plight of farmers, and factory workers, and educators, and fishermen, and doctors, and scientists, and hourly workers across this country of ours, and bring a bright new day for everyone who works, and who has family who works, and their children. and their dependents.

That kind of thing. I heard a broadcast on NPR about six or seven years ago where they deconstructed a Bush speech, and gave a term for this king of oratory structure. Now that I need that term, I can't for the life of me remember it.

Thanks all!

 

[j d worthington]

I'm sure this isn't what you mean, but the term which comes to mind is "anaphora":

ANAPHORA (Greek, "carried again," also called epanaphora): The intentional repetition of beginning clauses in order to create an artistic effect. For instance, Churchill declared, "We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on the end. We shall fight in France. We shall fight on the seas and oceans. We shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air. We shall defend our island, whatever the cost shall be." The repetition of "We shall. . ." creates a rhetorical effect of solidarity and determination. A well-known example is the Beatitudes in the Bible, where nine statements in a row begin with "Blessed are." ("Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.") Anaphora is the opposite of epistrophe, in which the poet or rhetorician repeats the concluding phrase over and over for effects. Often the two can be combined effectively as well. For instance, Saint Paul writes to the church at Corinth, "Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. Are they the ministers of Christ? I am more." Here, artful use of anaphora and epistrophe combined help Paul make his point more emphatically. Both anaphora and epistrophe are examples of rhetorical schemes. They serve to lend weight and emphasis.

Then again, my wits are half-asleep, so....

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I was thinking it might be anaphora, or diacope:

the repetition of a word or phrase broken up by one or more intervening words.

 

[Culhwch]

I'd suggent that speaker is just pretty 'andy.

Oh god, I've been around Ursa too long!

 

[GOLLUM]

I'd suggent that speaker is just pretty 'andy.

Oh god, I've been around Ursa too long!

ER...or perhaps not quite long enough....

 

[GOLLUM]

OK...Well if I can put my editor's hat on, you're all around it but not quite hitting the nail on the proverbial head....

The original question relates to the repetition of conjunctions, in this case the word "and". The term used to describe this is Polysyndeton: repetition of conjunction(s) in close succession as one of the homogeneous parts, or clauses, or sentences

The opposite of this is the direct avoidance of conjunctions, namely asyndeton.

Anaphora is the repetition of the first word or words in several successive sentences, clauses or phrases. The opposite of this is epistrophe where a specific word or words are repeated at the end of said successive sentences, clauses etc... as per J.D's post.

Diacope as per Teresa's post is very close but more of a generic solution as it refers to the uninterrupted repetition of a word, or repetition with only one or two words between each repeated phrase. This could conceivably include the word "and" but from my experience is not generally used in this context and clearly not as specific a definition as Polysyndeton.

I hope that helps to answer your question Omphalos and it would be interesting if that word rings a vague bell or not from the NPR program you refer to?

 

[Culhwch]

Well, yeah, if you want to be technical...

 

[GOLLUM]

Well I prefer to be accurate if that is what you mean... The question was very specific and therefore required a specific response.

You may or may not have seen my comment in the other place we co-habit but anyways..... it's Friday afternoon here and time to chill down and party. Yeh!

Cheers....

 

[Culhwch]

That's my excuse for getting a little silly!

 

[The Judge]

Wow! More wonderful words! I'd never heard of any of these. I shall be making notes. Thanks everyone.

 

[Omphalos]

Thanks all. Im pretty sure all of those terms were used in the broadcast that I heard, but Gollum seems to have it.

FYI, I just bought an encyclopedia of rhetorical terms last night, so I can try to figure this stuff out on my own.

That NPR program resonated with me because I had noticed Bush doing it months before; I was surpirsed to hear that it was an acknowledged and catalogued rhetorical tactic. Now, personally I thought the man was a boob, but I'll freely admit that when he was talking about something he understood well (as infrequently as that was), like religion or faith, for example, he could appear inspiring. The way he used that tactic of using the word "and" repetitively was somewhat hypnotic; kind of like a drone string on a banjo in a bluegrass tune, just twanging away at the same pitch, over and over and over in the background.

 

[GOLLUM]

Thanks all. Im pretty sure all of those terms were used in the broadcast that I heard, but Gollum seems to have it.

FYI, I just bought an encyclopedia of rhetorical terms last night, so I can try to figure this stuff out on my own.

Glad I could help. I'm interested now..which rhetorical dictionary did you buy? Name of item pretty please..

 

[Ursa major]

It would be handy to know that. (I blame the influence of Cul.)


If it's the one I've seen on Amazon, it doesn't come cheap. Then again, I assume from what he's posted over the years, Omphalos will be able to put the information it contains to good use**.





** - And I'm not even counting the benefits we here on the Chrons will have when we've access to an expert on the topic.