Zeugma (from the Greek word "ζεύγμα", meaning "yoke") is a figure of speech describing the joining of two or more parts of a sentence with a common verb or noun. A zeugma employs both ellipsis, the omission of words which are easily understood, and parallelism, the balance of several words or phrases. The result is a series of similar phrases joined or yoked together by a common and implied noun or verb. In a modern sense, the zeugma has been classified as a synonym for syllepsis, a particular kind of zeugma, although there is a clear distinction between the two in classical treatises written on the subject. Henry Peacham praises the “delight of the ear” in the use of the zeugma in rhetoric, but stresses to avoid “too many clauses.” The zeugma is categorized according to the location and part of speech of the governing word. A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetoric, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. ... Distinguish from ellipse. ... Parallelism means to give two or more parts of the sentences a similar form so as to give the whole a definite pattern. ... Henry Peacham is the name shared by two English Renaissance writers who were father and son. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of spoken and written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... In grammar, a part of speech or word class is defined as the role that a word (or sometimes a phrase) plays in a sentence. ...

Prozeugma

The prozeugma (also called the Synezeugmenon or the Latin praeiunctio) is a zeugma where a verb in the first part of a sentence governs several later clauses in series. Latin is an ancient Indo-European language originally spoken in Latium, the region immediately surrounding Rome. ...

• ’’Vicit pudorem libido, timorem audacia, rationem amentia (Cicero, Pro Cluentio, VI.15)

“She conquered shame with passion, fear with audacity, reason with madness.” (also an example of a tricolon) Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA:Classical Latin pronunciation: , usually pronounced in American English or in British English; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, philosopher, widely considered one of Romes greatest orators... This article needs to be wikified. ... This page is a candidate to be copied to Wiktionary using the Transwiki process. ...

• “Povertie hath gotten conquest of thy riches, shame of thy pride, danger of thy safetie, folly of thy wisedome, weakenesse of thy strength, and time of thy imagined immortalitie. [sic]”-- Henry Peacham

Mesozeugma

The mesozeugma is a zeugma where a verb in the middle of the sentence governs several parallel clauses on either side.

• Both determination and virtue will prevail; both dedication and honor, diligence and commitment.

• “What a shame is this, that neither hope of reward, nor feare of reproch could any thing move him, neither the perswasion of his friends, nor the love of his countrey. [sic]”--Peacham

Hypozeugma

The hypozeugma, also called an adjunctio in Latin, is a zeugma where a verb falls at the end of a sentence and governs several parallel clauses that precede it.

• Aut morbo aut vetustate formae dignitas deflorescit.—Rhetorica ad Herennium

"Either with disease or age, physical beauty fades"

• ”through rain or sleet or dark of night, the mail must get through.”—motto of postal carriers (also contains a rhetorical bracketing and repetition of the word “through”)

• Nihil ne te nocturnum praesidium palatii, nihil urbis vigilae, nihil timor populi, nihil concursus bonorum omnium, nihil hic muntissimus habendi senatus locus, nihil horum ora vultusque moverunt? —Cicero In Catilinam I-IV.

"Does not the nightly watch of the Palatine, Does not guard of the city, Does not the fear of the people, Does not the union of all good men, Does not of the holding of the senate in this most defensible place, Does not the looks and faces of these people move you?"

By suspending the verb until the end, the listener is unable to determine what action the atrocities will cause, which is precisely the point Cicero intends to make. In this manner, the hypozeugma lends itself well to the forming of a periodic sentence. The Rhetorica ad Herennium is the oldest surviving Latin book on rhetoric. ... In 63 BC Marcus Tullius Cicero (106-43 BC), orator, statesman and patriot, attained the rank of consul and in that capacity exposed to the Roman Senate the plot of Lucius Sergius Catilina (approx. ... 17th century aviaries on the hill, built by Rainaldi for Odoardo Cardinal Farnese: once wirework cages surmounted them. ... A Periodic Sentence (also called a Period) is a sentence that is not grammatically complete until its end. ...

• "Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears."—William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

• "Meanwhile, impatient to mount and ride, Booted and spurred, with a heavy stride

On the opposite shore walked Paul Revere."- Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Paul Revere’s Ride"

• "The foundation of freedome, the fountaine of equitie, the safegard of wealth, and custodie of life, is preserved by lawes."—Peacham

Following a hypozeugma with a prozeugma can create a chiasmus (The foundation of freedom and the fountain of equity is preserved by laws. Our lawless acts destroy our wealth and threaten our custody of life.) Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Gaius Julius Caesar [1] (Latin pronunciation ; English pronunciation ; July 12 or July 13, 100 BC or 102 BC–March 15, 44 BC), was a Roman military and political leader and one of the most influential men of classical antiquity. ... For the song by the Beastie Boys, see Paul Revere (song). ... Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet whose works include Paul Reveres Ride, A Psalm of Life, The Song of Hiawatha and Evangeline. ... Chiasmus (latinized form of Greek χιασμός, from χίασμα (chiasm), crossing) is a figure of speech based on inverted parallelism. ...

Diazeugma

The diazeugma is a zeugma where a noun governs two or more verbs. Latin rhetoricians further divide the diazeugma according to the placement of the subject and verbs.

Diazeugma Disjunction

The subject appears at the beginning of the sentence and each verb follows in its respective clause.

• Populus Romanus Numantiam delevit, Kartaginem sustulit, Corinthum disiecit, Fregellas evertit.—Rhetorica ad Herennium

The Roman people destroyed Numantia, razed Carthage, demolished Corinth, and overthrew Fregella.

• Formae dignitas aut morbo deflorescit aut vetustate extinguitur—Rhetorica ad Herennium’’

Physical beauty: with disease it fades; with age it dies.

Diazeugma Conjunction

The subject appears in the middle of a sentence and may take the place of a conjunction. Carthage (Greek: , Latin: , from the Phoenician meaning new town; Arabic: ) refers both to an ancient city in North Africa located in modern day Tunis and to the civilization that developed within the citys sphere of influence. ... Corinth, or Korinth (Greek: Κόρινθος, Kórinthos; see also List of traditional Greek place names) is a Greek city-state, on the Isthmus of Corinth, the narrow stretch of land that joins the Peloponnesus to the mainland of Greece. ...

• Stands accused, threatens our homes, revels in his crime, this man guilty of burglary asks for our forgiveness.
• Despairing in the heat and in the sun, we marched, cursing in the rain and in the cold.

Hypozeuxis

The Hypozeuxis is the opposite of a zeugma, where each subject has its own verb.

• The parents scowled, the girls cried, and the boys jeered while the clown stood confused.
• "We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields, and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender!"—Winston Churchill
• "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering" - Yoda, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.

The We shall fight on the beaches speech was a famous speech made by Sir Winston Churchill to the House of Commons of the British Parliament on 4 June 1940. ... Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, KG, OM, CH, TD, FRS, PC (Can) (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British politician, soldier in the British Army, orator, and strategist, and is studied as part of the modern British and world history. ... Yoda is a fictional character from the Star Wars universe, who appears in all of the franchises films except for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. ... Film poster for Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 film by George Lucas starring Liam Neeson, Ewan McGregor, Natalie Portman, and Jake Lloyd. ...

Syllepsis

Syllepsis is a particular type of zeugma in which the clauses are not parallel either in meaning or grammar. The governing word may change meaning with respect to the other words it modifies. This creates a semantic incongruity which is often humorous. Alternatively, a syllepsis may contain a governing word or phrase which does not agree grammatically with one or more of its distributed terms. This is an intentional construction bending the rules of grammar for stylistic effect.

Distributed term changes meaning

The governing term can change meaning in its distribution, sometimes to comical effect.

alter cum res gestas tum etiam stadium atque auris adhibere posset.—Cicero, Pro Archia Poeta, (62)

the other was able to lend not only his achievements, but also his support and ears

Here thou, great Anna! whom three realms obey,

Dost sometimes counsel take - and sometimes tea.

Alexander Pope, The Rape of the Lock (Pope was speaking of Queen Anne and Kensington Palace; note that in Pope's time, "tea" was pronounced "tay" and thus rhymed with "obey.")

He carried a strobe light and the responsibility for the lives of his men.

Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried

Syllepsis can be used with idiomatic phrases to achieve a similar result: Marcus Tullius Ciceros oration in the defense of Archias Licinius, a poet accused of not being a Roman citizen. ... Alexander Pope, an English poet best known for his Essay on Criticism and Rape of the Lock Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 – 30 May 1744) is generally regarded as the greatest English poet of the early eighteenth century, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. ... The New Star, Illustration by Aubrey Beardsley for The Rape of the Lock The Rape of the Lock is a mock-heroic poem written by Alexander Pope, first published in 1712 in two cantos, and then reissued in 1714 in a much-expanded 5-canto version. ... Tim OBrien can refer to: American author Tim OBrien American bluegrass musician Tim OBrien Irish-born cricketer Sir Timothy (Tim) Carew OBrien (5 November 1861 - 9 December 1948), who played 5 test matches for England and captained England in one test in 1895/6. ... The Things They Carried is a collection of related vignettes by Tim OBrien, about a platoon of American soldiers in the Vietnam War, originally published in hardcover by Houghton Mifflin, 1990. ... An idiom is an expression (i. ...

• If we don't hang together, we shall hang separately.

Benjamin Franklin

• You held your breath and the door for me.

Alanis Morissette, Head over Feet

• I took her hand and then an aspirin in the morning,

I took her hand and took her home.

Eve 6, "Girl Eyes"

• "Oh, flowers are as common here, Miss Fairfax, as people are in London." (from The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde) Cecily is making a catty remark to Miss Fairfax, a Londoner, by using "common" in two senses, namely "numerous" and "vulgar".
• "The Russian grandees came to Elizabeth's court dropping pearls and vermin." Macaulay tells us here in one short phrase a great deal about the Russian grandees.
• "Are you getting fit or having one?" (from the television program M*A*S*H)
• "You are free to execute your laws, and your citizens, as you see fit." (from the television program Star Trek: The Next Generation)
• "She was a thief, you got to believe: she stole my heart and my cat." (from the film So I Married an Axe Murderer)
• "When he asked 'What in heaven?' she made no reply, up her mind, and a dash for the door." Flanders and Swann
• "Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared."

Scar and his hyena minions, in Lion King

Benjamin Franklin (January 17 [O.S. January 6] 1706 – April 17, 1790) was one of the most well known Founding Fathers of the United States. ... Alanis Nadine Morissette (born in Ottawa, 1 June 1974) is a Canadian and naturalized[1] American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. ... Head Over Feet is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette, featured on her American debut album Jagged Little Pill. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Importance of Being Earnest The Importance of Being Earnest is a play by Oscar Wilde, a comedy of manners in either three or four acts (depending on edition) inspired by W. S. Gilberts Engaged. ... Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, and short story writer. ... Quotes His imagination resembled the wings of an ostrich. ... Television series redirects here. ... M*A*S*H is an American television series developed by Larry Gelbart, inspired by the 1968 Richard Hooker (penname for H. Richard Hornberger) novel M*A*S*H: A Novel About Three Army Doctors and its sequels, but primarily by the 1970 film MASH, and influenced by the 1961... Television series redirects here. ... The title as it appeared in most episodes opening credits. ... So I Married an Axe Murderer is a 1993 film starring Mike Myers and Nancy Travis. ... Michael Flanders Donald Swann The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann (1923–1994) who collaborated in writing comic songs. ... Mufasa, Simbas father The Lion King is the Walt Disney Companys 32nd animated film, and one of its most successful. ...

Syllepsis with ambiguous grammar

A syllepsis may contain a governing word which does not agree grammatically with one or more of the words or clauses to which it is distributed.

• "Loud lightning and thunder shook the temple walls."

Here, neither "loud" nor "shook" agree with "lightning", a purely visual effect.

• "The sky and my hopes is falling."
• "Our son's diaper and your excuses is stinking."

The first subject is brought to our attention more ominously by the verb with which it agrees.

Examples of syllepsis

• She went home in a flood of tears and a sedan chair. - Charles Dickens
• He said, as he hastened to put out the cat, the wine, his cigar and the lamps...

  She lowered her standards by raising her glass, Her courage, her eyes and his hopes

  When he asked, "What in Heaven?" she made no reply, up her mind, and a dash for the door - Flanders and Swann, "Madeira M'Dear"

• ... and covered themselves with dust and glory. - Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
• You can leave in a taxi. If you can't get a taxi, you can leave in a huff. If that's too soon, you can leave in a minute and a huff. - Groucho Marx, from Duck Soup
• Come the (computer) revolution, all persons found guilty of such criminal behavior will be summarily executed, and their programs won't be!--Numerical Recipes
• My teeth and ambitions are bared; be prepared! - Scar, from The Lion King with lyrics by Tim Rice

Dickens redirects here. ... Michael Flanders Donald Swann The British duo Flanders and Swann were the actor and singer Michael Flanders (1922–1975) and the composer, pianist and linguist Donald Swann (1923–1994) who collaborated in writing comic songs. ... Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 — April 21, 1910),[1] better known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, writer, and lecturer. ... Julius Henry Marx, AKA Groucho Marx (October 2, 1890 – August 19, 1977), was an American comedian, working both with his siblings, the Marx Brothers, and on his own. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Numerical Recipes is the generic term for the following books on algorithms and numerical analysis, all by William Press, Saul Teukolsky, William Vetterling and Brian Flannery: Numerical Recipes in C++. The Art of Scientific Computing, ISBN 0-521-75033-4. ... Scar is a fictional lion character and the primary villain of Walt Disney Pictures popular 1994 animated movie The Lion King. ... The Lion King is a 1994 animated feature film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. ... Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist for musical theatre, a radio presenter, television gameshow panelist and an author. ...

See also

• Figure of Speech
• Rhetoric
• Humour
• Antanaclasis

A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetoric, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. ... Rhetoric (from Greek , rhêtôr, orator, teacher) is generally understood to be the art or technique of persuasion through the use of spoken and written language; however, this definition of rhetoric has expanded greatly since rhetoric emerged as a field of study in universities. ... Look up humour in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Antanaclasis is a stylistic trope, in which a single word is repeated, but with a different meaning each time. ...

Sources

• Pseudo-Cicero, ‘’Rhetorica ad Herennium’’ (with an English translation by Harry Caplan 1954) Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, (ISBN 0-674-99444-2)
• Quintillian, Institutio Oratoria : Books I-III (edited by H. E. Butler 1980) Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, (ISBN 0-674-99138-9)
• Henry Peacham, The Garden of Eloquence Scholars' Facsimiles & Reprints, Inc. 1977 (ISBN 0-8201-1225-9)
• Dr. Gideon O. Burton, Silva Rhetoricae, websource 2003
• Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920). Greek Grammar. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, p. 683. ISBN 0-674-36250-0. 

Cicero at about age 60, from an ancient marble bust Marcus Tullius Cicero (IPA:Classical Latin pronunciation: , usually pronounced in American English or in British English; January 3, 106 BC – December 7, 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, political theorist, philosopher, widely considered one of Romes greatest orators... Quintillian, Marcus Fabius Quintillianus (c. ...

External links

• Some examples of zeugma as a synonym for syllepsis
• Perseus Project with links to original sources on rhetoric