antanaclasis

In rhetoric, antanaclasis (; from the , ''antanáklasis'', meaning "reflection", from ἀντί ''anti'', "against", ἀνά ''ana'', "up" and κλάσις ''klásis'' "breaking") is the literary trope in which a single word or phrase is repeated, but in two different senses. Antanaclasis is a common type of pun, and like other kinds of pun, it is often found in slogans.Corbett and Connors, 1999. p.62-63

Examples

*I'm not a ''businessman'', I'm a ''business, man'' — Lyrics by Jay-Z from " Diamonds From Sierra Leone" by Kanye West.
*Your argument is ''sound'', nothing but ''sound''. — Benjamin Franklin. The word ''sound'' in the first instance means "solid" or "reasonable". The second instance of ''sound'' means "noise".My English Pages. Retrieved 09 June, 2018. https://www.myenglishpages.com/site_php_files/writing-antanaclasis.phpCorbett and Connors, 1999. p.63
*Although we're ''apart'', you're still ''a part'' of me. — Lyrics from "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino.
*I used to be so ''careless'', as if I couldn't ''care less''. — Lyrics from " Mary's Prayer" by Danny Wilson.
*Time isn't ''wasted'', when you're getting ''wasted''. — Lyrics from " I Love College" by Asher Roth.
*Real sugar, ''sweet'' as a ''sweet'' can be — Lyrics from " Real Sugar" by Roxette.
*And meet me in the ''john'', ''John'', meet me in the ''john'', ''John''. — Lyrics from " My Bag" by Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.
*“In Genua, someone set out to make ''dreams'' come true... Remember some of your ''dreams''?” – Sir Terry Pratchett. The first usage of ''dreams'' refers to aspirations or desires, while the second refers to literal dreams.
*"When the going gets tough, you don't want a ''criminal lawyer,'' alright? You want a ''criminal'' lawyer." – Jesse Pinkman, describing Saul Goodman.
*In Genesis 40:13 and 40:19, Joseph interprets two dreams and uses "lift up your head" to deliver two messages—one positive and the other, negative—to the two prisoners.
*The word ''that'' is repeated five times in the sentence That that is is that that is not is not is that it it is, which has various meanings, depending on how it is punctuated.
*''Had'' is repeated eleven times in the sentence James while John had had had had had had had had had had had a better effect on the teacher, which can be read differently depending on punctuation and intonation.
*''Buffalo'' is repeated eight times, and has three different meanings ( a city, an animal, and a verb), in "Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo".
*The Chinese poem " Shī-shì shí shī shǐ" ("Lion-Eating Poet in the Stone Den") by Yuen Ren Chao. The words are written differently in the original language (Classical Chinese), and are pronounced as the same syllable (some with different tones) when read aloud in modern Standard Mandarin.

Shakespeare

*Put out the ''light'', then put out the ''light''. — From ''Othello''. Othello utters these words to himself as he enters Desdemona's chamber while she sleeps, intending to murder her. The first instance of put the light out means he will quench the candle, and the second instance means he will end the life of Desdemona.
*I will ''dissemble'' myself in't; and I would I were the first that ever ''dissembled'' in such a gown. — In ''Twelfth Night'', the fool Feste, where ''dissemble'' changes from "disguise" to "act hypocritically".
*Whoever hath her wish, thou hast thy ''Will''
And ''Will'' to boot, and ''Will'' in overplus... — Shakespeare's Sonnet 135. The speaker is named Will, but the woman he is addressing has another lover who is also named Will. In this sonnet, the word will is used thirteen times, meaning "William", "sexual desire", "penis", or "vagina", depending on the context (and it usually means more than one of these things at once).
*Shall this his ''mock'' ''mock'' out of their dear husbands, ''Mock'' mothers from their sons, ''mock'' castles down — from Henry V, King Henry utters four times the word mock to express two different meanings of 'mock' - one is 'to cheat' another is 'to taunt'.

Witticisms

*" Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana" is an example of a garden path sentence – the first half of the sentence misleads the reader into parsing the second half incorrectly. The exact origin of the phrase is unknown, but differing versions of it have appeared in print since the 1960s.
*Benjamin Franklin, at the signing of the Declaration of Independence, is reported to have said: "We must, indeed, all ''hang'' together, or assuredly we shall all ''hang'' separately". However, the phrase has also been attributed to Richard Penn in Alexander Graydon's ''Memoirs of a Life'', and appeared in Frederic Reynolds' play ''Life'', first published in 1801.
*In an essay entitled "The Literati of New York City", Edgar Allan Poe wrote of George B. Cheever: "He is much better known, however, as the editor of ''The Commonplace Book of American Poetry'', a work which has at least the merit of not belying its title, and ''is'' exceedingly commonplace".
*The American football coach Vince Lombardi once told his team: "If you aren't fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired, with enthusiasm".

Advertising

*The ''long'' cigarette that's ''long'' on flavor. — Pall Mall cigarettes
*We make the traveler's ''lot'' a ''lot'' easier. — Overseas National Airways

Responding to questions

Antanaclases are prevalent in humorous paraprosdokians employed when responding to a question. For example, in response to the question "how are you two?", an Israeli (Modern Hebrew) speaker can say בסדר גמור; היא בסדר, אני גמור ''be-séder gamúr; hí be-séder, aní gamúr'', literally "in-order complete; she in-order, I complete", i.e. "We are very good. She is good, I am finished". Note the ambiguity of the Israeli lexical item גמור ''gamúr'': it means both "complete" and "finished". A parallel punning paraprosdokian in English is a man's response to a friend's question ''Why are you and your wife here?'': ''A workshop; I am working, she is shopping.''

Latin literature

* The Roman poet Lucretius in ''De rerum natura'' Book 3 line 365 observes that we sometimes find ourselves temporarily blinded by bright objects because "lumina luminibus quia nobis praepediuntur" (because our eyes are impeded by the lights), taking advantage of the fact that in Latin the same word can mean both "eye" and "light".

See also

*Equivocation, used as a logical fallacy
*Figure of speech
* List of linguistic example sentences
*Polyptoton
*Pun
*Rhetoric
* Zeugma

Footnotes

Sources

* Baldrick, Chris. 2008. ''Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms''. Oxford University Press. New York.
* Corbett, Edward P. J. and Connors, Robert J. 1999. ''Style and Statement''. Oxford University Press. New York, Oxford.
* Forsyth, Mark. 2014. ''The Elements of Eloquence''. Berkley Publishing Group/Penguin Publishing. New York.
* Kennedy, X.J. et al. 2006. ''The Longman Dictionary of Literary Terms: Vocabulary for the Informed Reader''. Pearson, Longman. New York.

External links

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{{Figures of speech

Figures of speech
Polysemy