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Expressing a single idea by two nouns instead of a noun and its qualifier.
A method of amplification that adds force. |
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| Examples
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He came despite
the rain and weather.
Instead of "He came despite the rainy weather"
The distinction and presence of the dignitary moved his audience.
By separating the term “distinctive presence” into
“distinction and presence,” the speaker accentuates the adjective by
transforming it into a noun. Were the separation not made, the modifier
would be combined with its object and lose some of its potency.
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| Related
Figures |
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- anthimeria
Hendiadys can be considered a specific application of anthimeria,
the more general term indicating the substitution of one part of speech
for another.
- polysyndeton
Hendiadys increases the use of conjunctions in a sentence in the very
act of transforming an adjective-noun combination into two nouns.
- paradiastole
Making an adjective a noun changes it from a subordinate to an ordinate
or parallel position, inviting one to consider the nouns as related
but distinct. Like hendiadys, paradiastole divides out and distinguishes
terms normally considered completely consistent with one another.
- Figures of Division
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| Related
Topics of Invention |
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- Division
Hendiadys demonstrates the rhetorical force of division. In this case,
dividing the adjective from the noun it modifies establishes a parity
between the two resulting nouns that seems to double the meaning,
rather than simply qualify it.
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| See
Also |
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- Amplification
Hendiadys amplifies both the length and the force of the thought and
provides a novel method of varying speech.
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Sources: |
Peacham (1577)
H4r; Putt. (1589) 188 ("endiadis," "figure of twinnes"); Day 1599 83 |
