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Polyptoton is the stylistic scheme in which different words derived from the same root (such as "strong" and "strength") are used together. A related stylistic device is antanaclasis, in which the same word is repeated, but each time with a different sense. Another related term is figura etymologica.


In inflected languages

In inflected languages (such as
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
), polyptoton is the repetition of a word in different grammatical cases. One example of this can be found in the Latin forms of the Roman deity Jupiter, or "Iuppiter". The word appears in various cases as follows: "Iuppiter" (nominative), "Iovem" (accusative), "Iovis" (genitive), "Iovi" (dative), and "Iove" (ablative).


Genesis

The form is relatively common in Latin Christian poetry and prose in a construction called the superlative genitive, in phrases such as sanctum sanctorum ("holy of holies"), and found its way into languages such as
Old English Old English ( or , or ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. It developed from the languages brought to Great Britain by Anglo-S ...
, which naturally preferred the prevalent
alliteration Alliteration is the repetition of syllable-initial consonant sounds between nearby words, or of syllable-initial vowels if the syllables in question do not start with a consonant. It is often used as a literary device. A common example is " Pe ...
that is part and parcel of polyptoton—in fact, polyptoton is "much more prevalent in Old English verse than in Latin verse." The specific superlative genitive in Old English, however, occurs only in Latinate Christian poems, not in secular poetry.


Historical instances and usages

It is also used in
public speaking Public speaking, is the practice of delivering speeches to a live audience. Throughout history, public speaking has held significant cultural, religious, and political importance, emphasizing the necessity of effective rhetorical skills. It all ...
, and several examples can be found in Churchill's speeches. G. K. Chesterton frequently employed this device to create
paradox A paradox is a logically self-contradictory statement or a statement that runs contrary to one's expectation. It is a statement that, despite apparently valid reasoning from true or apparently true premises, leads to a seemingly self-contradictor ...
: In combination with verbal active and
passive voice A passive voice construction is a grammatical voice construction that is found in many languages. In a clause with passive voice, the grammatical subject expresses the ''theme'' or ''patient'' of the main verb – that is, the person or thing ...
s, it points out the idea of a latent reciprocity: An alternative way to use the device is to develop polyptoton over the course of an entire novel, which is done in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Shelley combines polyptoton with periphrastic naming, which is the technique of referring to someone using several indirect names. The creature in Frankenstein is referred to by many terms, such as "fiend", "devil", "being", and "ogre". However, the first term that Shelley uses in reference to the creature is "wretch". Throughout the novel, various forms of this are used, such as "wretchedly" and "wretchedness", which may be seen as polyptoton. According to Duyfhuizen, the gradual development of polyptoton in ''Frankenstein'' is significant because it symbolizes the intricacies of one's own identity.


Examples

* "Who shall watch the watchmen themselves?" (''Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?'') —
Juvenal Decimus Junius Juvenalis (), known in English as Juvenal ( ; 55–128), was a Roman poet. He is the author of the '' Satires'', a collection of satirical poems. The details of Juvenal's life are unclear, but references in his works to people f ...
* "Thou art of blood, joy not to make things bleed." —
Sir Philip Sidney Sir Philip Sidney (30 November 1554 – 17 October 1586) was an English poet, courtier, scholar and soldier who is remembered as one of the most prominent figures of the Elizabethan age. His works include a sonnet sequence, '' Astrophil and ...
* "With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder." —
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, '' Richard II'' II,i,37 * "The Greeks are strong, and skillful to their strength / Fierce to their skill, and to their fierceness valiant" —
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
, ''
Troilus and Cressida ''The Tragedy of Troilus and Cressida'', often shortened to ''Troilus and Cressida'' ( or ), is a play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1602. At Troy during the Trojan War, Troilus and Cressida begin a love affair. Cressida is forc ...
'' I, i, 7-8 * "Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds / Or bends with the remover to remove." —
William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
,
Sonnet 116 William Shakespeare's sonnet 116 was first published in 1609. Its structure and form are a typical example of the Shakespearean sonnet. The poet begins by stating he does not object to the "marriage of true minds", but maintains that love is no ...
* "The greatest weakness of all weaknesses is to fear too much to appear weak." —
Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet Jacques-Bénigne Lignel Bossuet (; 27 September 1627 – 12 April 1704) was a French Bishop (Catholic Church), bishop and theology, theologian. Renowned for his sermons, addresses and literary works, he is regarded as a brilliant orator and lit ...
* "Do not listen to the reasoners; there has been too much reasoning in France, and reasoning has banished reason." —
Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immedi ...
, '' Considerations on France'', criticizing the
Cult of Reason The Cult of Reason () was France's first established State religion, state-sponsored secular religion, atheistic religion, intended as a replacement for Catholicism, Roman Catholicism during the French Revolution. After holding sway for barely ...
during the French Revolution * "People complain of the despotism of princes; they ought to complain of the despotism of ''man''. We are all born despots." —
Joseph de Maistre Joseph Marie, comte de Maistre (1 April 1753 – 26 February 1821) was a Savoyard philosopher, writer, lawyer, diplomat, and magistrate. One of the forefathers of conservatism, Maistre advocated social hierarchy and monarchy in the period immedi ...
, ''Against Rousseau'' * "Deep into that darkness peering / Long I stood there wondering, fearing / Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before." —
Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...
, ''
The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...
'' * "The expropriators are expropriated." —
Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...
, ''
Das Kapital ''Capital: A Critique of Political Economy'' (), also known as ''Capital'' or (), is the most significant work by Karl Marx and the cornerstone of Marxian economics, published in three volumes in 1867, 1885, and 1894. The culmination of his ...
'' * "To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant." —
Amos Bronson Alcott Amos Bronson Alcott (; November 29, 1799 – March 4, 1888) was an American teacher, writer, philosopher, and reformer. As an educator, Alcott pioneered new ways of interacting with young students, focusing on a conversational style, and av ...
* "Diamond me no diamonds, prize me no prizes…" —
Alfred, Lord Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of ...
, ''Lancelot and Elaine'' * "Absolute power corrupts absolutely." — Lord Acton * "If we lose our sanity, we can but howl the lugubrious howl of idiots, the howl of the utterly lost howling their nowhereness." — D. H. Lawrence * "The healthy man does not torture others—generally it is the tortured who turn into torturers." —
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist, psychotherapist, and psychologist who founded the school of analytical psychology. A prolific author of Carl Jung publications, over 20 books, illustrator, and corr ...
* "There is no end of it, the voiceless wailing / No end to the withering of withered flowers / To the movement of pain that is painless and motionless / To the drift of the sea and the drifting wreckage / The bone’s prayer to Death its God. Only the hardly, barely prayable / Prayer of the one Annunciation." — T. S. Eliot, ''
The Dry Salvages ''The Dry Salvages'' is the third poem of T. S. Eliot's ''Four Quartets'', marking the beginning of the point when the series was consciously being shaped as a set of four poems. It was written and published in 1941 during the The Blitz, air-r ...
'' * "Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired." —
Robert Frost Robert Lee Frost (March26, 1874January29, 1963) was an American poet. Known for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American Colloquialism, colloquial speech, Frost frequently wrote about settings from rural life in New E ...
* "Not as a call to battle, though embattled we are." — John F. Kennedy, ''Inaugural Address'', January 20, 1961. * "The young are generally full of revolt, and are often pretty revolting about it." — Mignon McLaughlin * "What was done to me was monstrous. And they created a monster." — V in ''
V for Vendetta ''V for Vendetta'' is a British graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by David Lloyd (comics), David Lloyd (with additional art by Tony Weare). Initially published between 1982 and 1985 in black and white as an ongoing Serial (li ...
'' * "Secrets aren't secret. They're just hidden treasures, waiting to be exploited." — Stephen White, ''Dry Ice'' * "I am a disciple of discipline!" — David Goggins * "Can’t explain all the feelings that you’re making me feel." — The Darkness, '' I Believe in a Thing Called Love''


See also

* Antanaclasis *
Cognate object In linguistics, a cognate object (also known as a cognate accusative or an internal accusative) is a verb's object which is etymologically related to the verb. More specifically, the verb is one that is ordinarily intransitive (lacking any object), ...
* '' Figura etymologica'' *
Legal doublet A legal doublet is a standardized phrase used frequently in English legal language consisting of two or more words that are irreversible binomials and frequently synonyms, usually connected by ''and'', such as ''cease and desist''. The order of th ...


References


Sources

* Corbett, Edward P.J. ''Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student''. Oxford University Press, New York, 1971. * * Toswell, M. J. “Polyptoton in Old English Texts.” ''Early English Poetic Culture and Meter: The Influence of G. R. Russom'', edited by M. J. Toswell and Lindy Brady, pp. 111–130. Medieval Institute Publications, Kalamazoo, 2016. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvvnccj.11. {{Figures of speech Rhetoric Figures of speech