Ecphonesis ( el, ἐκφώνησις) is an emotional, exclamatory phrase (

exclamation An exclamation is an emphatic utterance, the articulate expression of an affect. Exclamation may also refer to: * Exclamation mark, the punctuation mark "!" * Exclamation, an emphatic interjection * Exclamation, a statement against penal intere ...

) used in poetry, drama, or song. It is a

rhetorical device In rhetoric, a rhetorical device, persuasive device, or stylistic device is a technique that an author or speaker uses to convey to the listener or reader a meaning with the goal of persuading them towards considering a topic from a perspective, ...

that originated in ancient literature. A Latin example is "O tempora! O mores!" ("Oh, the times! Oh, the morals!"). A modern example is "Young man!" from the song

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organization based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It was founded on 6 June 1844 by George Williams in London, originally ...

by the Village People.

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; Edgar Poe; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre. He is wid ...

used ecphonesis in “

The Tell-Tale Heart "The Tell-Tale Heart" is a short story by American writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in 1843. It is related by an unnamed narrator who endeavors to convince the reader of the narrator's sanity while simultaneously describing a murder the n ...

:”

"Almighty God!--no, no! They heard!--they suspected!--they knew!--they were making a mockery of my horror!--this I thought, and this I think. But anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision! I could bear those hypocritical smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now--again!--hark! louder! louder! louder! louder! "'Villains!' I shrieked, 'dissemble no more! I admit the deed!--tear up the planks! here, here!--It is the beating of his hideous heart!'"

Other examples of ecphonesis include when Homer Simpson said "No! No-no-no-no-no-no! Well, yes." during ''The Simpsons'' episode "Homer The Heretic," and when the Scarecrow said "Oh joy! Rapture! I got a brain!" in ''The Wizard of Oz.''

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

used the expressions "Sad!" and "Wrong!" without elaboration throughout his 2016 US presidential campaign.

In Eastern Orthodox Liturgy

In the

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...

many prayers are recited silently by the priest who "speaks to God face-to-face" according to St. Symeon of Thessaloniki. However, the closing words of such prayers are usually chanted aloud, especially at the closing of an ectenia (litany), and those closing words are called an ecphonesis. ''Examples:'' * In the anaphora (eucharistic prayer), the prayer following the

sanctus The Sanctus ( la, Sanctus, "Holy") is a hymn in Christian liturgy. It may also be called the ''epinikios hymnos'' ( el, ἐπινίκιος ὕμνος, "Hymn of Victory") when referring to the Greek rendition. In Western Christianity, th ...

is said silently by the priest but its ending, the Words of Institution, are intoned in a loud voice. * During most ectenias the priest silently recites a prayer up to its last line and then, when the ectenia has concluded, he chants aloud that last line.

References

Rhetoric Christian prayer Eastern Christian liturgy {{orthodoxy-stub