Polysyndeton
A rhetorical figure that repeats conjunctions for rhythmic accumulation and biblical weight.
Polysyndeton is the deliberate use of more conjunctions than grammar strictly requires. Where asyndeton drops the connective, polysyndeton insists on it: 'and this, and that, and the other'. The effect is of accumulation. Each 'and' asks the reader to pause, register a new item, and add it to a growing pile.
The King James Bible is saturated with polysyndeton because it translates a Hebrew original whose narrative style leans on the conjunction 'waw'. 'And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good' is one of the most influential polysyndetic sentences in English. Hemingway used the figure to produce a quite different, plain-spoken cadence in fiction.
The figure carries a strong voice with it. Polysyndeton in a business memo sounds strange; polysyndeton in a sermon or a lyric can be devastating. Use it when accumulation is the point.
“And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good.”
Keep reading the glossary
A rhetorical figure that removes conjunctions between clauses for speed and force.
The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive clauses.
The art of persuasive speaking and writing — the discipline behind every great quoted line.
Aristotle's three modes of persuasion — character, emotion, and reason.