Diazeugma
One subject governing a rapid series of verbs.
Diazeugma attaches a single subject to multiple verbs in sequence: 'The Roman people destroyed Numantia, razed Carthage, demolished Corinth.' The subject is stated once and then drives a chain of actions, which compresses a long narrative into a single sentence.
The effect is energetic and cumulative. Because the reader never has to re-identify the actor, attention falls entirely on what is being done, and the verbs accelerate against each other.
It is the mirror image of zeugma, where one verb governs several objects, and it pairs naturally with asyndeton — dropping the conjunctions between the verbs sharpens the acceleration further.
Common mistake: switching the implied subject partway through the chain. If the third verb needs a different actor, the sentence breaks and the figure becomes an error.
“He came, unlocked the door, lit the lamp, sat down, and said nothing.”
Keep reading the glossary
A figure in which one word governs two or more others in different senses — often for wit or surprise.
A rhetorical figure that removes conjunctions between clauses for speed and force.
A construction in which one word governs two others in different senses at once.
A figure in which points already made are gathered and restated in a compressed rush at the end of an argument.