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Information about Hendiadys

Hendiadys (a Latinized form of the Greek phrase ἓν διὰ δυοῖν hen dia duoin 'one through two') is a figure of speech used for emphasis — "The substitution of a conjunction for a subordination". The basic idea is to use two nouns linked by a conjunction to express a single complex idea.

The typical result is to transform a noun-plus-adjective into two nouns joined by a conjunction.

For example, "sound and fury" (from Act V, Scene V of Macbeth) seems to offer a more striking image than "furious sound". In this example, as typically, the subordinate idea originally present in the adjective is transformed into a noun in and of itself.

"The kingdom and the power and the glory" (from the Lord's Prayer) extends the principle, transforming the idea of a "glorious, powerful kingdom" into a sequence of three nouns joined by conjunctions.

When hendiadys fails in its effects, it can sound merely redundant. For example, cum amicitia atque pace, “with friendship and peace” is often translated instead as “with peaceful friendship.”

English names for hendiadys include two for one and figure of twinnes.

Hendiadys is often used in Latin poetry; many examples occur in Virgil's Aeneid.

See also

References

  • Smyth, Herbert Weir (1920). Greek Grammar. Cambridge MA: Harvard University Press, p. 678. ISBN 0-674-36250-0. 
  • George T. Wright, "Hendiadys and Hamlet." PMLA 96:2 (1981) 168-93.
Latin}}} 
Official status
Official language of: Vatican City
Used for official purposes, but not spoken in everyday speech
Regulated by: Opus Fundatum Latinitas
Roman Catholic Church
Language codes
ISO 639-1: la
ISO 639-2: lat
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Greek}}} 
Writing system: Greek alphabet 
Official status
Official language of:  Greece
 Cyprus
 European Union
recognised as minority language in parts of:
 European Union
 Italy
 Turkey
Regulated by:
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A figure of speech, sometimes termed a rhetoric, or elocution, is a word or phrase that departs from straightforward, literal language. Figures of speech are often used and crafted for emphasis, freshness of expression, or clarity. However, clarity may also suffer from their use.
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Examples
A proper or common noun can co-occur with an article or an attributive adjective. Verbs and adjectives can't. As usual, a `*' in front of an example means that this example is ungrammatical.
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    In grammar, an adjective is a word whose main syntactic role is to modify a noun or pronoun (called the adjective's subject), giving more information about what the noun or pronoun refers to.
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    Conjunction can refer to:
    • Astronomical conjunction, an astronomical phenomenon
    • Astrological aspect, an aspect in horoscopic astrology
    • Grammatical conjunction, a part of speech
    • Logical conjunction, a mathematical operator

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    Macbeth is among the best known of William Shakespeare's plays, as well as his shortest surviving tragedy. It is frequently performed at professional and community theatres around the world.
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    Lord's Prayer,[1] also known as the Our Father or Pater noster is probably the best-known prayer in Christianity. On Easter Sunday 2007 it was estimated that 2 billion Protestant, Catholic, and Eastern Orthodox Christians read, recited, or sang the short
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    Aeneid (IPA English pronunciation: [əˈniːɪd]; in Latin Aeneis, pronounced [aɪˈne.
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    Hendiatris (Greek for one through three) is a figure of speech used for emphasis, in which three words are used to express one idea.

    For example, the phrases "wine, women and song" or "Sex and Drugs and Rock and Roll" use three words to capture one idea.
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