Polysyndeton facts for kids

Polysyndeton (say it: pol-ee-SIN-duh-ton) is a special way of writing or speaking. It comes from Ancient Greek words meaning "many" and "bound together."

When you use polysyndeton, you deliberately add lots of connecting words (like "and," "but," or "or") in a sentence. This is done to make the writing feel slower, more serious, or to create a strong rhythm. It can also make a list of things feel longer or more important.

In grammar, a polysyndetic coordination means that all the items in a list are joined by a connecting word. For example, instead of "apples, bananas, oranges," you would say "apples and bananas and oranges."

How Polysyndeton Works

Polysyndeton helps writers achieve different effects:

• Slowing Down the Pace: It makes the reader pause at each connecting word, which can make the text feel more thoughtful or dramatic.
• Adding Emphasis: By repeating the conjunction, each item in a list gets more attention and feels more important.
• Creating a Flow: It can make a series of events or descriptions feel connected and continuous.

Famous Examples of Polysyndeton

Many famous writers and speakers have used polysyndeton to make their words more powerful.

From the Bible

The Book of Genesis in the Bible uses polysyndeton to create a grand and serious feeling:

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind." And it was so. And God made the beast of the earth after his kind and cattle after their kind, and everything that creeps upon the earth to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Notice how "and" is repeated many times, making the creation story feel very important and step-by-step.

In Literature

• The author Ernest Hemingway often used "and" to show a continuous flow of events. In his story "After the Storm," he wrote:

"I said, 'Who killed him?' and he said 'I don't know who killed him, but he's dead all right,' and it was dark and there was water standing in the street and no lights or windows broke and boats all up in the town and trees blown down and everything all blown and I got a skiff and went out and found my boat where I had her inside Mango Key and she was right only she was full of water."

This makes the reader feel like they are experiencing everything right along with the character.

• The poet John Keats used polysyndeton in his poem "Endymion":

And soon it lightly dipped, and rose, and sank,

And dipped again...

The repeated "and" makes the movement of the object feel smooth and continuous.

• William Shakespeare also used this technique. In King Lear, a character says:

"So we'll live and pray, and sing, and tell old tales, and laugh at gilded butterflies, and hear poor rogues talk of court news, and we'll talk with them too."

This long list of activities, all connected by "and," emphasizes how many things they will do together.

• Modern writers use it too! Maya Angelou wrote in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings:

"Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books, and mostly—mostly—let them have their whiteness."

The repeated "and" highlights all the things the speaker feels others have.

In Film

• In the movie Inherit the Wind (1960), the character Henry Drummond says:

"But all you have to do is knock on any door and say, 'If you let me in, I'll live the way you want me to live, and I'll think the way you want me to think,' and all the blinds'll go up and all the windows will open, and you'll never be lonely, ever again."

This shows how many things would change if someone gave up their beliefs.

• The movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail makes fun of the way the Bible is written by using a lot of polysyndeton:

And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this thy hand grenade, that with it thou mayst blow thine enemies to tiny bits, in thy mercy." And the Lord did grin. And the people did feast upon the lambs, and sloths, and carp, and anchovies, and orangutans, and breakfast cereals, and fruit bats, and large chu[...]

The long, silly list of things people ate is made even funnier by the repeated "and."

Polysyndeton's Opposites

Polysyndeton is often compared to two other writing styles:

Asyndeton

Asyndeton (say it: uh-SIN-duh-ton) is the opposite of polysyndeton. It means leaving out connecting words where you would normally expect them. This can make a list feel faster, more urgent, or more impactful.

• A famous example is Julius Caesar's quote: "Veni, vidi, vici" (I came, I saw, I conquered). There are no "and"s, making it sound quick and powerful.
• John F. Kennedy used asyndeton in his 1961 inaugural address: "We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardships, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Syndeton

Syndeton (say it: SIN-duh-ton) is when you use just one connecting word in a list. This is the most common way to write lists.

• For example, in The Wizard of Oz, the Wizard says: "You are talking to a man who has laughed in the face of death, sneered at doom, and chuckled at catastrophe." Here, only one "and" is used before the last item.

See also

In Spanish: Polisíndeton para niños