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Parataxis
Definition of
Parataxis
Parataxis is a literary device in Which
there is a juxtaposition
of short, simple, independent clauses without subordinating conjunctions.
Parataxis examples sometimes include no conjunctions at all, though there can
be coordinating conjunctions such as “but,” “and,” “for,” “yet,” “so,” “or,”
and so on. Parataxis examples never include linking words such as “while,”
“that,” “until,” and so on (i.e., subordinating conjunctions). The difference
between coordinating and subordinating conjunctions is a matter of dependence;
coordinating conjunctions can join two or more independent ideas, whereas
subordinating conjunctions show that one part is reliant on another for
meaning.
There is a second definition of parataxis which applies to literature.
Parataxis can also mean a poetic technique of placing two starkly dissimilar
images or fragments side by side in a poem. The contrast forces readers to
make connections between these dissimilar things. Some poetic forms, such as
the haiku, make use of this
technique so as to provide a turn and surprise for the reader.
The word parataxis comes from the Greek
for “the act of placing side by side” from the words para-, “beside” and
tassein, “to arrange.”
Difference Between Parataxis and
Asyndeton
Parataxis and asyndeton are very similar
literary techniques. Asyndeton is the omission of all conjunctions between
successive clauses. In fact, asyndeton, can be considered a subset of parataxis
in that all examples of asyndeton are also examples of parataxis. The reverse
statement, however, is not true because some parataxis examples do use
coordinating conjunctions.
Common Examples of Parataxis
Parataxis can be found in some
advertising slogans, as brands and companies usually favor brevity and easy to
remember tag lines. Here are some examples:
§ “Melts in your mouth, not in your
hands.”—M&Ms
§ “Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s
Maybelline.”—Maybelline
§ “Nothing outlasts the Energizer. It
keeps going and going and going.”—Energizer batteries
§ “Pork. The Other White Meat.”—National
Pork Board
§ “Thousands of possibilities. Get
yours.”—Best Buy
One good example of parataxis outside
the literary realm is the contemporary art form of music videos. Many times
there are images which are placed one after the other that require the viewer
to make connections that are not necessarily obvious.
Significance of Parataxis in Literature
Though clauses and sentences in an
example of parataxis are independent, the function of parataxis is to allow the
reader or listener to imagine the train of thought that leads from one idea to
the next. Parataxis examples do not show these connections in full, but instead
rely on the intelligence of the reader to fill in the gaps, so to speak. Thus,
parataxis is quite different from a non sequitur, where there
is not any connection from one idea to the next.
Examples of Parataxis in Literature
Example #1
‘Come along, then,’ said he of the
green coat, lugging Mr. Pickwick after him by main force, and talking the whole
way. Here, No. 924, take your fare, and take yourself off—respectable
gentleman—know him well—none of your nonsense—this way, sir—where’s your
friends?—all a mistake, I see—never mind—accidents will happen—best regulated
families—never say die—down upon your luck—Pull him UP—Put that in his
pipe—like the flavour—damned rascals.’ And with a lengthened string of similar
broken sentences, delivered with extraordinary volubility, the stranger led the
way to the traveller’s waiting-room, whither he was closely followed by Mr.
Pickwick and his disciples.
(The Pickwick Papers by Charles
Dickens)
The above excerpt from Charles
Dickens’s work The Pickwick Papers is a famous example of parataxis
which calls attention to its own technique. The stranger speaks in “a
lengthened string of similar broken sentences,” as Dickens says. As the reader,
we can see the connection and train of thought from one idea to the next, and
yet there are not conjunctions in place to connect the ideas.
Example #2
‘What should we drink?’ the girl asked.
She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.
‘It’s pretty hot,’ the man said.
‘Let’s drink beer.’
‘Dos cervezas,’ the man said into the curtain.
‘Big ones?’ a woman asked from the doorway.
‘Yes. Two big ones.’
(“Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest
Hemingway)
Ernest Hemingway is known for his
concise style and his
tendency to eschew subordinating conjunctions. He describes as little as he can
get away with, and the dialogue
between his characters is often filled with subtext and nuance. In the above
excerpt from his short story “Hills Like White Elephants,” Hemingway uses only
one conjunction altogether (“and” in the first line), and mostly writes in
short, declarative sentences.
Example #3
124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s
venom. The women in the house knew it and so did the children. For years each
put up with the spite in his own way, but by 1873 Sethe and her daughters
Denver were its only victims.
(Beloved by Toni Morrison)
The contemporary writer Toni Morrison
often writes in a paratactic style (i.e., one that exemplifies parataxis),
choosing short sentences and combining successive clauses only with
coordinating conjunctions, or with punctuation and no conjunction at all. The
above few lines are famous for opening Morrison’s masterpiece Beloved.
The surprising short sentences “124 was spiteful. Full of a baby’s venom.” make
the reader wonder what, exactly, 124 is, and how it could be spiteful.
Morrison’s concise style builds intrigue in the reader.
Example #4
I needed a drink, I needed a lot of
life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had
was a coat, a hat and a gun.
(Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond
Chandler)
The short excerpt above from Raymond
Chandler’s novel Farewell, My Lovely is an excellent parataxis example.
The first sentence connects independent clauses only with sentences, while the
second contains exactly one coordinating conjunction. The first sentence also
is an example of anaphora,
which is a form of repetition
in which successive clauses begin with the same word or words. Chandler does a
good job of intimating the connections between his character’s different
“needs” and then contrasting them with what the character does actually have.
Example #5
In the summer quiet. Just be. Joshua
liked the Beatles, used to listen to them in his room, you could hear the noise
even through the big headphones he loved. Let it be. Silly song, really. You
let it be, it returns. There’s the truth. You let it be, it drags you to the
ground. You let it be, it crawls up your walls.
(Let the Great World Spin by
Colum McCann)
Contemporary author Colum McCann is
noted for his style of writing without many conjunctions, and often even
without full sentences. The above paragraph from McCann’s award-winning Let
the Great World Spin riffs on the famous Beatles imperative “Let it be.”
McCann’s incomplete sentences do away with unnecessary words and leave the
reader to imagine and create connections where McCann has enigmatically left
them out.
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