Aposiopesis (;
Classical Greek: ἀποσιώπησις, "becoming silent") is a
figure of speech
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...
wherein a sentence is deliberately broken off and left unfinished, the ending to be supplied by the imagination, giving an impression of unwillingness or inability to continue. An example would be the threat "Get out, or else—!" This device often portrays its users as overcome with passion (fear, anger, excitement) or
modesty
Modesty, sometimes known as demureness, is a mode of dress and deportment which intends to avoid the encouraging of sexual attraction in others. The word "modesty" comes from the Latin word ''wikt:modestus, modestus'' which means "keeping within ...
. To mark the occurrence of aposiopesis with punctuation, an
em-rule (—) or an
ellipsis (…) may be used.
Examples
* One classical example of aposiopesis in
Virgil occurs in
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
1.135.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
, the Roman god of the Sea, is angry with the winds, whom
Juno released to start a storm and harass the
Trojan hero and protagonist
Aeneas
In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus (mythology), Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both ...
.
Neptune
Neptune is the eighth planet from the Sun and the farthest known planet in the Solar System. It is the fourth-largest planet in the Solar System by diameter, the third-most-massive planet, and the densest giant planet. It is 17 times ...
berates the winds for causing a storm without his approval, but breaks himself off mid-threat:
*Another example in
Virgil occurs in the ''
Aeneid
The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...
'' 2.100.
Sinon
In Greek mythology, Sinon (Ancient Greek: Σίνων, from the verb "σίνομαι"—''sinomai'', "to harm, to hurt") or Sinopos, was a Greek warrior during the Trojan War.
Family
Sinon was the son of Aesimus, son of Autolycus. He was the ...
, the Greek who is posing as a defector to deceive the
Trojans into accepting the
Trojan Horse within their city wall, tells about how
Ulixes
Odysseus ( ; grc-gre, Ὀδυσσεύς, Ὀδυσεύς, OdysseúsOdyseús, ), also known by the Latin variant Ulysses ( , ; lat, UlyssesUlixes), is a legendary Greek king of Ithaca and the hero of Homer's epic poem the ''Odyssey''. Odysse ...
lied to spur on the war.
*For an example from classical Latin theater, this occurs multiple times in one speech in
Terence's
Adelphoe, lines 159-140. In the play, Demea has two sons. He has given one to his brother Micio to raise. In the following scene, Demea has worked himself up in anger over his brother's laxer parenting style. The following speech provides multiple examples of aposiopesis:
* A
biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
example is found in
Psalm 27, verse 13. It says: "Unless I had believed I would see the goodness of the
Lord in the land of the living …" The implication is that the author does not know what he would have done.
* King Lear, overcome by anger at his daughters, says:
No, you unnatural hags,
I will have such revenges on you both,
That all the world shall— I will do such things,—
What they are, yet I know not: but they shall be
The terrors of the earth. ( Shakespeare, '' King Lear'', II.iv)
* Aposiopesis also occurs at the agitated climax of
Mercutio's "
Queen Mab" speech, resulting in a calming intervention by
Romeo:
''Mercutio''. This is the hag, when maids lie on their backs,
That presses them and learns them first to bear,
Making them women of good carriage:
This is she—
''Romeo''. Peace, peace, Mercutio, peace!
Thou talk'st of nothing. (Shakespeare, ''Romeo and Juliet
''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...
'', I.iv)
*
Dante Alighieri used an Aposiopesis in his
Divine Comedy, Hell IX, 7-9 (citation from the translation by
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow) (
Virgil speaks to himself):
''“Still it behoveth us to win the fight,”''
''Began he; “else . . . Such offered us herself . . .''
''O how I long that some one here arrive!”''
Grammatical definition
In syntax, an aposiopesis arises when the "if" clause (
protasis) of a
condition is stated without an ensuing "then" clause, or
apodosis. Because an aposiopesis implies the trailing off of thought, it is never directly followed by a period, which would effectively result in four consecutive dots.
See also
*
Anacoluthon
An anacoluthon (; from the Greek ''anakolouthon'', from ''an-'': "not" and ἀκόλουθος ''akólouthos'': "following") is an unexpected discontinuity in the expression of ideas within a sentence, leading to a form of words in which there is l ...
*
Anapodoton
*
Prosiopesis
Prosiopesis (from Classical Greek, προσιώπησις, "becoming silent") is a term coined by Otto Jespersen for pronouncing a word or phrase without vocalizing its initial sounds. One example Jespersen gave is for "Good morning" to be shorten ...
*
Quos ego
''Quos ego'' (Latin, literally 'Whom I') are the words, in Virgil's ''Aeneid'' (I, 135), uttered by Neptune, the Roman god of the Sea, in threat to the disobedient and rebellious winds. Virgil's phrase is an example of the figure of speech called ...
*
Figure of speech
A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is a word or phrase that intentionally deviates from ordinary language use in order to produce a rhetorical effect. Figures of speech are traditionally classified into '' schemes,'' which vary the ordinary ...
*
Non sequitur (literary device)
A non sequitur ( , ; " tdoes not follow") is a conversational literary device, often used for comedic purposes. It is something said that, because of its apparent lack of meaning relative to what preceded it, seems absurd to the point of being h ...
Notes
References
{{Aeneid
Figures of speech
Rhetoric