There’s a saying that “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. There are many ways to write poetically, but not everyone has the same preferences when it comes to prose – some favour the punchy pronunciations offered by assonance and alliterations, while others lean towards the rhythmic repetition of diacopes. To help us better understand the obscure world of literary devices, we return to Mark Forsyth’s book The Elements of Eloquence: How to Turn the Perfect English Phrase.
Whether you’re still trying to expand your poetic repertoire or figuring out which writing style is write for you, perhaps syllepses and isocolons are what you seek!
Syllepses treat your verbs like Swiss Army Knives – one tool (or word in this instance) to encompass and describe multiple actions.
Stringing together syllepses
A favourite of Charles Dickens, the syllepsis is an odd literary device. It is defined as an instance where one word is used in two incongruous ways in the same sentence – ie. “He fell into a barrow and fast asleep”. The verb fell is used to describe both the actions of falling into the handcart and falling asleep.
Where most literary devices require you to insert additional words to create a poetic effect, a syllepsis lets you do the same in as few additional words as possible. The oddity (and beauty) of the syllepsis is its ability to join up two or more actions that most people would not associate together. You wouldn’t think a handcart to be a very nice place to sleep unless you were utterly exhausted!
According to Forsyth, the most extreme use of the syllepsis encompassed nine distinct actions. After a young journalist was criticised by his editor for not being brief enough, here’s what he reported the next day:
“A shocking affair occurred last night. Sir Edward Hopeless, as guest at Lady Panmore’s ball, complained of feeling ill, took a highball, his hat, his coat, his departure, no notice of his friends, a taxi, a pistol from his pocket, and finally his life. Nice chap. Regrets and all that.”
The truth of the story is debatable, but it masterfully showcases the incredible power of the syllepsis. “We all take no notice of things, and sometimes we take taxis, and occasionally we take our own lives, but generally in English we don’t do them all in the same sentence,” points out Forsyth. “It makes the word took look rather silly, or rather, it makes us think about the many ways that we can use the verb. It also sounds rather funny when a noun as commonplace as hat is, by grammar, made equal with a noun like life.”
However, the strength of the syllepsis is also its weakness. “Syllepsis makes the reader astonished and go back to check what the word was and how it’s working,” he explains. “It’s terribly witty, but it’s terribly witty in a look-at-me-aren’t-I-witty sort of way.” Indeed, a syllepsis as drawn out as the journalist’s report definitely comes across as snooty, but something subtler like “make love not war” exudes elegance without being a troublesome mouthful.
A sentence synced in rhythm – whether clauses complex or not – makes for a wonderful read aloud.
In perfect balance with isocolons
Even if poetry isn’t your forte, there’s no doubt that you’ve heard of the classic “roses are red, violets are blue…” kind of formatting before. When you have clauses, phrases or sentences that are grammatically parallel and structurally the same, you have yourself an isocolon. The isocolon was especially liked by ancient Greek writers and poets, for they believed this literary device to grant prose a calmer rhythm and the illusion of reason.
Aside from being prominent in poetry, many modern quotes take the form of isocolons. In the film Casablanca, Rick Blaine tells Isla Lund “Where I’m going, you can’t follow. What I’ve got to do, you can’t be any part of.” “Modern isocolons tend to work as a kind of spot-the-difference game,” writes Forsythe. “We use the similarities to point up the differences, and use the differences to point up the similarities.” In the Casablanca example, where and what, going and doing and following and taking part create contrast and the first layer of differentiation. Rick’s two sentences seem to be about different subjects – one about location, the other about physical action – but they carry the same meaning of Rick trying to exclude Isla.
Like the syllepses, Forsythe believes lengthy isocolons also share the weakness of potentially sounding forced and artificial. Consider this rallying speech from Winston Churchill during World War II:
“Fill the armies, rule the air, pour out the munitions, strangle the U-boats, sweep the mines, plough the land, build the ships, guard the streets, succor the wounded, uplift the downcast, and honour the brave.”
Churchill is undeniably a man who motivates action, but a key reason why his quotes are so memorable are because of the context that they are used in. “It’s very hard to work an extended isocolon subtly,” Forsyth muses. “It’s strictly for the moment when you’re addressing the crowds in Rome or Washington, or trying to win the Second World War over the radio. It’s not the sort of trick you can use down the pub or try over dinner.” People would think you’d had one too many drinks if you emulated Churchill’s isocolon at the dinner table!
Rather, isocolons work best when they are short and abrupt. It’s a reason why they are especially popular amongst marketers and brand slogans – like with Kit-Kat’s “Have a break. Have a Kit-Kat” or Woodsy Owl’s “Give a hoot. Don’t pollute”. “Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee, chat like a human being,” he describes. If a tagline is what you need, isocolons deliver on the deed. Rhythmically elegant – verbally eloquent – such is the isocolon.
Literary devices work in strange and wonderful ways. With but a few simple rules, you can transform your sentences from mundane and ordinary into confident and graceful. Which is your favourite literary device so far? Let us know in the comments below and stay tuned for our next deep dive into poetic devices!
To check out the other literary devices we’ve covered in the past:
Part 1 – Alliterations and assonance
Part 2 – Polyptotons, antitheses, merisms and blazons
Part 3 – Hyperbatons, anadiplosis and periodic sentences
Part 4 – Parataxis and hypotaxis
Part 5 – Diacopes and rhetorical questions
Part 6 – Hendiadyses, epistrophes and tricolons