Polysyndeton | Meaning & Examples
Polysyndeton is a literary device that describes the repetition of conjunctions such as “and,” “or,” and “but,” even where they are not necessary for meaning. It is used to create rhythm or emphasis in a text and can add to a sense of purpose or urgency.
Polysyndeton definition
Polysyndeton comes from two Greek words, “poly,” meaning “many” (as found in “polymath” and “polygamy”) and “syndeton,” meaning “bound together with” ( “syn-” is also found in “synthesis” and “synchronize,” among other things).
So polysyndeton is the occurrence of many binding words, which are called “conjunctions.” In school, it is commonly taught that lists of things joined with conjunctions should be avoided. But polysyndeton breaks this rule to achieve particular effects.
Why use polysyndeton?
Polysyndeton can be used to impart a sense of urgency and to build layer-upon-layer of description. It is also a useful contrast to a succession of longer sentences. Here are some of the common reasons polysyndeton is used.
To build descriptions. In Great Expectations, Charles Dickens gives Pip’s first description of Magwitch a sense of building fear with his use of polysyndeton.
To enhance rhythm. T. S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock uses polysyndeton to help build the meter of the poem and to convey the sense of the movement of time.
That lift and drop a question on your plate;
Time for you and time for me,
And time yet for a hundred indecisions,
And for a hundred visions and revisions,
Before the taking of a toast and tea.”
In religious texts. Religious texts, especially in translation, quite often use polysyndeton.
“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” —Genesis 1:1–5
The holiest book of Sikhism, Guru Granth Sahib, has this passage:
“Even if you could live throughout the four ages, or even ten times more, and even if you were known throughout the nine continents and followed by all, with a good name and reputation, with praise and fame throughout the world—-still, if the Lord does not bless you with His Glance of Grace, then who cares?”
To keep a narrative moving. In Bob Dylan’s “Hurricane,” he uses polysyndeton to keep the narrative moving.
The crime was murder “one,” guess who testified?
Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied
And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride.”
Polysyndeton or asyndeton
Just as “poly-” is the Greek for “many,” “a-” means “without.” So asyndeton means “without conjunctions.” It is a technique that employs lists of items without any connecting words. Julius Caesar’s “I came, I saw, I conquered” would not be as catchy if it were “I came, and I saw, then I conquered.”
Meat and potatoes and vegetables and gravy—these make the perfect meal for an omnivore. [polysyndeton]
Frequently asked questions about polysyndeton
- What is the difference between polysyndeton and asyndeton?
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With polysyndeton, the writer uses many conjunctions (especially “and” and “or”) in close proximity, and in asyndeton, the conjunctions are omitted.
For example, “Beg, borrow, steal—in fact, do anything you can to get to the game” is an example of asyndeton, whereas “beg, or borrow, or steal, or, in fact, do anything to get to the game” is an example of polysyndeton.
Both are used by careful writers to achieve a particular effect, but they need to be deployed with care.
- What is an example of polysyndeton?
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In John Keats’s “Ode to Autumn,” he uses polysyndeton to bring his description to a close:
“And full-grown lambs loud bleat from hilly bourn;
Hedge-crickets sing; and now with treble soft
The red-breast whistles from a garden-croft;
And gathering swallows twitter in the skies.”Ernest Hemingway’s A Farewell to Arms contains this example of polysyndeton:
“In the bed of the river there were pebbles and boulders, dry and white in the sun, and the water was clear and swiftly moving and blue in the channels.”
Polysyndeton can move a description along at pace, or it can slow the pace of a passage. Used carefully, it is a useful tool for the writer.
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Marshall, T. (2025, January 13). Polysyndeton | Meaning & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved February 10, 2025, from https://www.scribbr.com/rhetoric/polysyndeton/