Aristotle, Rhetoric III, 12, 4

Extract

In section III, 12, of the Rhetoric, Aristotle discusses the style of practical oratory, λέξις ἀγωνιστική, as opposed to the literary style, λέξις γραφική. While in the latter a compact construction is necessary, the former uses an asyndetic composition which gives it the character of natural speech and a dramatic potential conformable to ὑπόκρισις, the artistic delivery. As far as Aristotle deals with stylistic composition in a larger sense (up to the beginning of ch. 4), his comments seem clear. In chapter 4 he passes to a more definite plane of syntactical notions: .

The interpretation of this passage offers more than one difficulty, contained both in its first section which ends with the example and in its last sentence.

1. The standard translation of the first section is as follows: ‘The asyndeton has a further peculiarity: in an equal space of time many things appear to be said. Just as the connective particle turns a number of statements into one, so its omission does the opposite: turns a single statement into many. Thus an asyndeton produces amplification, e.g. I came, I talked (with him), I entreated (him).’