asyndeton

Asyndeton Definition

Asyndeton (ah-SIN-di-ton) is the deliberate omission of a coordinating conjunction between words or phrases in literature or any written speech.

The term asyndeton, as we use it today, can be traced back at least as far as 4th century BCE. In Book III, Chapter 12 of Rhetoric, ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle explains the power of asyndeton:

Thus strings of unconnected words, and constant repetitions of words and phrases, are very properly condemned in written speeches: but not in spoken speeches — speakers use them freely, for they have a dramatic effect. In this repetition there must be variety of tone, paving the way, as it were, to dramatic effect; e.g., “This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely”

Asyndeton Construction

To create asyndeton, a writer or speaker need only eliminate a coordinating conjunction between words, phrases, or clauses.

Coordinating conjunctions link sentence elements so that each element carries equal weight. These are the only conjunctions that pertain to syndeton, asyndeton, and polysyndeton.

There are seven coordinating conjunctions, which you can remember with the mnemonic device FANBOYS.

• For: “I’m putting in little effort, for it’s my last day.”
• And: “The salt cave made everyone feel cleansed, rejuvenated, and at peace.”
• Nor: “He was not awake, nor was he asleep; he was lucid napping.”
• But: “I like the tuxedo T-shirt, but the top hat is a bit much.”
• Or: “Were you lying before or are you lying now?”
• Yet: “I’ve watched this movie three times, yet I can’t remember anything about it.”
• So: “I’m not leaving any time soon, so you can park behind me.”

Examples of Asyndeton

Take the sentence “If I could have anything to eat right now, it would be nachos, pancakes, crab rangoon, and popcorn shrimp.” To create asyndeton, the sentence would become “If I could have anything to eat right now, it would be nachos, pancakes, crab rangoon, popcorn shrimp.”

Another example is the sentence “By the time I remembered about the stove, I was already halfway to Vermont, so I was not going back.” becoming “By the time I remembered about the stove, I was already halfway to Vermont; I was not going back.” Here, the conjunction so is replaced with a semi-colon.

One can also create asyndeton by using truncated sentences instead of compound and complex sentences. Consider this example: “Liza didn’t want to forget to call her boss in the morning, so she wrote herself a note, set a reminder on her phone, and asked her mother to call her when she woke up.” By breaking this up into individual sentences, asyndeton is formed: “Liza didn’t want to forget to call her boss in the morning. She wrote herself a note. She set a reminder on her phone. She asked her mother to call her when she woke up.”

Types of Asyndeton

There are different levels of asyndeton related to the various elements of a sentence.

Deleting Conjunctions Between Words

The simplest way to use asyndeton is to remove a conjunction between two words. Removing and from the sentence “Watching the mainstream news for five minutes made me feel dismayed, disillusioned, and defenseless.” makes the sentence “Watching the mainstream news for five minutes made me feel dismayed, disillusioned, defenseless.”

Deleting Conjunctions Between Phrases

A phrase is a group of words that doesn’t contain both a subject and a verb. Take the example “The movie was a two-hour-long nightmare and an attack on all of my senses.” Asyndeton would be created by removing and—“The movie was a two-hour-long nightmare, an attack on all of my senses.”

Deleting Conjunctions Between Clauses

A clause is a group of words with a subject and a verb that isn’t a complete sentence. To create asyndeton in the sentence “They’re selfish, they’re ignorant, and they’re brainwashed.”, remove and. This makes “They’re selfish, they’re ignorant, they’re brainwashed.”

Deleting Conjunctions at the Sentence Level

A sentence is a complete, self-sustaining group of words with a subject and a verb. On the sentence level, asyndeton works a bit differently. By definition, sentences can’t have anything between them but punctuation, so asyndeton wouldn’t be accomplished by removing conjunctions. Instead, it would mean using short, spare sentences when the normal flow of conversation would dictate using a single, more complex sentence. Here is an example: “She’s tired. She’s cranky. You probably don’t want to go in there.” is asyndeton at the sentence level because most people would write it as “She’s tired and cranky, so you probably don’t want to go in there.”

The Effects of Asyndeton

Asyndeton is most often used to create the illusion of an unending list by eliminating the punctuating and before the final item.

As with any device that subverts typical speech patterns, asyndeton may also be used to maintain or break a rhythm within speech to make their words more memorable. With sentence-level asyndeton, a writer may be attempting to convey an air of composure by using short, succinct sentences.

Asyndeton and Related Terms

Polysyndeton

Polysyndeton is the opposite of asyndeton: it’s the addition of coordinating conjunctions between sentence elements where they’re not necessary. For example, rather than saying, “Jada, Gigi, Crystal, Jackie, and Heidi will be at the meeting,” you would say, “Jada and Gigi and Crystal and Jackie and Heidi will be at the meeting.”

Syndeton

Syndeton is business as usual. It means employing neither asyndeton nor polysyndeton and instead using one conjunction where appropriate. The first version of the sentence in the polysyndeton example is an example of syndeton.

Parataxis

Parataxis is the juxtaposition of sentence elements (words, phrases, clauses) to show that each element carries equal weight in relation to the others. “I came, I saw, I conquered,” in addition to being asyndeton, is an example of parataxis. However, it would still be parataxis if the conjunction and were added—“I came, I saw, and I conquered.”—whereas it would cease to be asyndeton.

Zeugma

Zeugma is a similar device to asyndeton in that it’s a stylistic omission. It occurs when a central word connects two distinctive parts of the sentence, usually in a play on words for clever effect. For example, in the sentence “He tasted the soup and failure,” tasted applies to the soup through its literal definition but applies to failure as a synonym for felt or experienced.

Syllepsis

According to some, syllepsis is a synonym for zeugma because it’s a stylistic omission built around a central word. However, others contend that syllepsis fails to be zeugma because the central word only suits one of the distinctive parts grammatically. For example, in the sentence “You see late-night Seinfeld reruns, and she a bright future,” she technically can’t take the verb see because of subject-verb agreement.

Asyndeton in Speeches

Many historical figures have heeded Aristotle’s advice about the power of asyndeton in public speaking. Lincoln used it in the Gettysburg Address, and Churchill used it in his “We shall fight on the beaches” speech.

In addition to being a great writer, Toni Morrison was a great speaker. In her rousing Nobel lecture, she addresses the harm caused by limited perspective. She lists out the crimes perpetrated and denied by this unquestioned single narrative, using asyndeton to imply that these crimes are the end of the list: “There will be more diplomatic language to countenance rape, torture, assassination.”

Examples of Asyndeton in Literature

1. Toni Morrison, Beloved

Sethe, the protagonist, has a soft spot for children. She takes a lost and unknown girl who calls herself Beloved into her home, no questions asked. Beloved immediately develops an almost eerie affinity for Sethe:

Stooping to shake the damper, or snapping sticks for kindlin, Sethe was licked, tasted, eaten by Beloved's eyes. [bold for emphasis]

The fact that these are all eating verbs suggest that Beloved was hungry, starved for whatever she believes Sethe can offer her. The asyndeton of the unbroken list of verbs suggests that Beloved’s adoration will continue to grow.

2. Wole Soyinka, “Abiku”

Abiku is a Yoruba word that refers to the spirit of a child who dies before reaching maturity. This spirit returns to the parents repeatedly, typically by occupying the forms of their subsequent children.

In this poem, Nobel Prize winner Soyinka uses asyndeton and other devices to show how this spirit will always return:

Must I weep for goats and cowries

For palm oil and sprinkled ash?

Yams do not sprout in amulets

To earth Abiku’s limbs.

So when the snail is burnt in his shell,

Whet the heated fragment, brand me

Deeply on the breast--you must know him

When Abiku calls again.

I am the squirrel teeth, cracked

The riddle of the palm; remember

This, and dig me deeper still into

The god’s swollen foot. [bold for emphasis]

There are many ceremonial actions performed to stop Abiku from coming back, but Abiku mocks these and challenges their parents to brand them. Asyndeton is used in two places in these stanzas, along with the image of bangles (which are round, indicating a cycle) and squirrel’s teeth (which never stop growing).

3. Holy Bible, ESV, Mark 7:21-23

In this quote from the Gospels, Jesus lists sinful impulses that come along with human flesh:

For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery,

coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness.

All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person. [bold for emphasis]

The use of asyndeton emphasizes the inevitability of the evil within, rather than the individual items. It also implies that the list could be infinite.

4. William Shakespeare, Othello

Throughout these lines from Act I, Scene 1 of Othello, Shakespeare uses sentence-level asyndeton:

Call up her father.

Rouse him. Make after him, Poison his delight,

Proclaim him in the streets. Incense her kinsmen,

And, though he in a fertile climate dwell,

Plague him with flies. Though that his joy be joy

Yet throw such changes of vexation on’t,

As it may lose some color.

The short, jerky sentences turn these lines into a rant—and an early indicator of Iago’s villainous character.

Further Resources on Asyndeton

American Rhetoric’s page on asyndeton provides examples from writers, politicians, and actors—including the aforementioned Toni Morrison speech—and each is paired with an audio clip.

This article from The Buckley School speaks to the rhetorical power of speaking in short phrases—namely using asyndeton and parataxis to drive your point home.

Related Terms

• Clause
• Conjunction
• Phrase
• Polysyndeton
• Sentence