From https://literarydevices.net/anadiplosis/:

Anadiplosis

The term anadiplosis is a Greek word, which means “to reduplicate.” It refers to the repetition of a word or words in successive clauses in such a way that the second clause starts with the same word which marks the end of the previous clause.

Anadiplosis exhibits a typical pattern of repeating a word. For example, the repetition of the word “give” in the sentence “When I give, I give myself” is termed anadiplosis, as it occurs at the end of the first clause and marks the beginning of the following clause.

Similarly, notice how the use of anadiplosis repeats in its typical fashion the word “reliability” to highlight the main point of the sentence, “This public school has a record of extraordinary reliability, a reliability that every other school is jealous of in the city.”

Anadiplosis and Chiasmus

It is important to note that anadiplosis is part of another figure of speech, chiasmus. However, every anadiplosis does not necessarily reverse its structure like it is done in chiasmus. For instance, “Forget what you want to remember, and remember what you want to forget” is an example of chiasmus (as it involves a reversal of structure in the second clause) and anadiplosis, as the word “remember” marks the end of one clause and the start of the subsequent clause.

Anadiplosis does not always employ a reversal of structure as in the sentence “The land of my fathers, and my fathers can have it.” It is an example of anadiplosis involving a typical repetition of the word “my fathers” but, unlike chiasmus, the structure of the final clause is not reversed.

Anadiplosis Examples in Literature

Writers employ anadiplosis in their literary texts to produce special stylistic effects, such as decorating texts by means of its typical repetitive pattern, and laying emphasis on an important point. Let us have a look at a few examples of this stylistic device from literature.

Example #1: The Holy Bible, II Peter, 1:5-7 (By the Apostle Peter)

“… you must make every effort to support your faith with goodness, and goodness with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with endurance, and endurance with godliness, and godliness with mutual affection, and mutual affection with love.”

In this verse, one is able to see how all the mentioned qualities are connected to each other with the use of anadiplosis.

Example #2: Lycidas (By John Milton)

“For Lycidas is dead, dead ere his prime,
Young Lycidas and hath not left his peer.”

Here the word “dead” has been repeated to put emphasis on the death of Lycidas. Milton often used anadiplosis in his works to convince or persuade his readers. The word “dead” serves the same purpose in these lines of Lycidas.

Example #3: Lolita (By Vladimir Nabokov)

“What I present here is what I remember of the letter, and what I remember of the letter I remember verbatim (including that awful French).”

Just observe the beautiful use of the phrase, “what I remember of the letter,” as an anadiplosis. The writer clearly wants his readers to focus on what he is saying and repeating in these lines. The message is further enhanced by the use of the word “verbatim.”

Example #4: Untitled (By Francis Bacon)

“He retained his virtues amidst all his – misfortunes – misfortunes which no prudence could foresee or prevent.”

Here, Bacon has used the word “misfortunes” twice, to bring home to his readers the main idea he is discussing, which is that misfortune is always unpredictable.

Example #5: The Isles of Greece (By Lord Byron)

“The mountains look on Marathon – And Marathon looks on the sea …”

This is a good use of anadiplosis by Lord Byron. Here, he has stressed the word “Marathon,” and repeated it to make it significant in the poem.

Example #6: Gladiator movie (By David Franzoni)

“The general who became a slave. The slave who became a gladiator. The gladiator who defied an emperor. Striking story!”

This is an excerpt of dialogue from the famous movie Gladiator (2000), in which a general is sold as a slave, who then had to work as a gladiator to make himself known in the arena and then defy the emperor. Look at the effects produced by the anadiplosis.

Function of Anadiplosis

It repeats a word in quick succession, in successive clauses, in order to add emphasis to the main idea. This works because readers tend to focus on the repetition of words, and thereby on the idea emphasized by them. Anadiplosis also serves to decorate a piece of writing or a speech. Often, CEOs and modern executives are fond of using this device to make their suggestions and commands effective.

From https://studyboss.com/literary-devices/geminatio.html:

Geminatio

Table of Contents

The Geminatio is a stylistic device of rhetoric and a figure of the word repetition. As Geminatio we call the repetition of words in the immediate neighborhood. This means that a word or a word group is reused immediately, usually by a comma. Thus, the Geminatio of the Anadiploses, Epanalepse and Epizeuxis resembles.

The term is derived from Latin (Latin geminatio) and can be translated with doubling. Consequently, the translation already shows what the basic principle of this stylistic means is: the doubling of words [which are directly following one another]. Let us look at an example.

O God, O God, why did you do this?
The above example bundles three style figures. Thus, on the one hand, we find the exclamation (exclamation) and, on the other hand, an apostrophe (address of absent persons) as well as a geminatio. This is found here in the doubling of the word group O God and amplifies what is said immensely.

Usually the geminatio occurs at the beginning of a linguistic utterance and thereby draws the recipient of the statement (reader, spectator) to a certain detail and thus increases the importance of the repeated concept. But of course it can also be used in the middle or at the end.

Theodor, the Theodore, stands with us in the football gate […] The above example is taken from a known football ball and introduces the Geminatio at the beginning of the statement, whereby the focus is strongly directed to the name Theodor. Let us take a look at the literary genres, and there are examples of the style figures of the word repetitions (eg Olé, Olé, Olé).

All around me are familiar faces
Worn out places, worn out faces
Bright and early for their daily races
Going nowhere, going nowhere.
And their tears are filling up their glasses
No expression, no expression.
Hide my head I want to drown my sorrow
No tomorrow, no tomorrow.
These verses are from a verse of the song Mad World by Gary Jules. In the repetition of the passages going nowhere, no expression, and no tomorrow, we find three times the stylistic means of the Geminatio. It becomes clear that the style figure also plays an important role in the design (→ sweepstroke) in the music and, of course, mainly in the refrain.

Geminatio, anadiplosis and epanalysis

Basically, the Geminatio recalls the stylistic figures Anadiplose and Epanalepse. Although all three special forms of repitition, ie the word repetition, there are differences.

Effect and function of Geminatio
In principle, it is extremely difficult to assign a unique function to a stylistic device. Then there is the danger of always breaking down on this function and not paying attention to the overall context. Nevertheless, there is often a reason for the use.

Overview of effect, function and effect of Geminatio
Like all stylistic means of repetition, the Geminatio has a reinforcing effect and can bring a statement to the fore. For, by the repetition of a word or a group of words, this naturally conveys penetration.
This effect is also often used in advertising to anchor a message, slogan or brand in the minds of consumers (for example, “What do you want?”), Ma-o-am, Ma-o-am , Ma-o-am! ‘”)
However, this can also quickly lead to a phrase that is pathetic (exaggerated, overly emotional) and thus develops a certain comedy or “unbelief” and seems thus exaggerated.

From https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/chiasmus:

Chiasmus Definition

What is chiasmus? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Chiasmus is a figure of speech in which the grammar of one phrase is inverted in the following phrase, such that two key concepts from the original phrase reappear in the second phrase in inverted order. The sentence “She has all my love; my heart belongs to her,” is an example of chiasmus.

Some additional key details about chiasmus:

Symmetry is key to chiasmus, but the repeated phrases need not be exactly symmetrical. So, a latter phrase might be a much longer elaboration of the preceding phrase that it echoes.
Chiasmus is related to the figure of speech antimetabole.
Chiasmus derives from the Greek for “a placing crosswise, diagonal arrangement.”

Chiasmus Pronunciation

Here’s how to pronounce chiasmus: kigh-az-muss

Understanding Chiasmus

Chiasmus can be tricky to grasp at first, so here’s a closer look at its most important elements.

The “Repeated Concepts” in Chiasmus Can Be Contrasting

While many examples of chiasmus use synonymous concepts, chiasmus can also involve opposite or contrasting concepts. For an example of chiasmus with synonymous ideas, look at this simple sentence. “Walked” is a synonym for “ambled,” and “tiredly” is a synonym for “drowsily.”

We walkedtiredly; drowsily, we ambled along toward the hotel.

The next sentence, on the other hand, is a case of chiasmus that uses concepts that contrast with one another:

My heart burned with anguish, and chilled was my body when I heard of his death.

While the speaker’s reference to his heart is a way of describing an emotional experience, when he talks about his body he is describing a physical experience. So while the heart and body may not be exact opposites, they’re related yet contrasting ideas. “Burned” and “chilled,” on the other hand, are direct opposites. The result is an interesting use of chiasmus in which physical sensations—hot and cold—are used to describe both emotional and physical sensations.

Chiasmus Depends on Inverted Word Order

One reason chiasmus is rare is that it depends on inverting the order of related concepts. So, although it’s common to come across repeated concepts and syntax in a sentence, those examples might not be chiasmus. For instance, it’s tempting to think this Walt Whitman quote is chiasmus:

I may be as bad as the worst, but, thank God, I am as good as the best.

After all, Whitman repeats the concepts of good/bad, and best/worst to convey that he has virtues as well as vices. But notice that the grammatical structure is duplicated (“bad as the worst,” “good as the best”) without any inversion of the syntax, so it’s not chiasmus. Were the sentence phrased instead as, “I may be as bad as the worst, but, thank God, compared to the best I am just as good,” that would make it an example of chiasmus. However, this inversion of the original phrasing sounds pretty awkward. That tendency toward awkward phrasing is one reason why chiasmus is not very common.

If Concepts Aren’t Related, It’s Not Chiasmus

An important rule to keep in mind when trying to identify examples of chiasmus is this: it’s not chiasmus unless the concepts involved are somehow related. This isn’t always easy to determine, since there are no hard and fast rules about what makes concepts related, but consider the following sentence, which isn’t chiasmus despite its use of a repetition with inverted grammar.

Eleanor loved a good cup of coffee. Mike was also an object of her adoration.

In this example, Eleanor’s love of something appears in both sentences, but Mike just isn’t similar to a cup of coffee, nor is he the opposite of a cup of coffee. So even though this example shows the proper way to invert the grammar, this isn’t a good example of chiasmus.

Related Concepts in Chiasmus Can Get Creative

In chiasmus, related concepts might not be as simple as “heart” and “love,” or “burned” and “chilled.” On the contrary, the concepts can be conveyed in extended, complex, and artful phrases. Take a look at Genesis 7:21-22:

And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: All in whose nostrils was the breath of life, of all that was in the dry land, died.

In this passage about a flood that covered the entire surface of the earth, life on earth is summarized as fowl, cattle, beast, humankind, and “every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.” Then, in the following clause, “All in whose nostrils was the breath of life” is used as another phrase to refer to all life on earth. Likewise, “all that was in the dry land, died” is just another way of saying what was already stated at the start of the first clause: “all flesh died that moved upon the earth.”

Note that though the grammatical structures are symmetrical in this example, the lengths of the phrases are not. So, in chiasmus, one phrase might be far longer than its parallel phrase.

Chiasmus Can Sound Old Fashioned

When Yoda gives advice to Luke Skywalker, what makes his advice memorable is its curious grammar (as in, “When you look at the dark side, careful you must be”). Chiasmus can have a similar effect. Notice the Yoda-esque quality of the second phrase here:

She went to church, but to the bar went he.

“To the bar went he” seems to belong more to the lexicon of nursery rhymes than everyday speech, sounding less natural and more antiquated. This is one reason chiasmus is found more often formal or stylized contexts, as opposed to everyday conversation or more informal writing.

Chiasmus Examples

Chiasmus Examples in Literature

Chiasmus is not a particularly common figure of speech in literature because it can often create language that feels formal or even stilted. Even so, it does appear occasionally in prose and, more often, in poetry, to produce a lyrical and balanced effect.

Chiasmus in John Milton’s Paradise Lost

The epic poem Paradise Lost has a number of instances of chiasmus. In these lines, “Adam” parallels “Eve,” and “men” parallels “women.” Chiasmus gives the lines a compact and pleasing pattern, as well as a lilting cadence.

Adam, first of men,
To first of women, Eve

The excerpt from Paradise Lost below also has a pleasing sense of unity. Love and grace are related concepts, while “Without end” and “without measure” both convey endlessness.

In his face
Divine compassion visibly appeerd
Love without end, and without measure Grace

Chiasmus in Walt Whitman’s Song of Myself

In this excerpt from one of Whitman’s most famous poems, he brings in chiasmus at the close of a number of other lines that use different figures of speech related to balance and repetition (in this case parallelism and diacope):

The city sleeps and the country sleeps,
The living sleep for their time, the dead sleep for their time,
The old husband sleeps by his wife and the young husband sleeps by his wife;
And these tend inward to me, and I tend outward to them.

“Tend[ing] inward” refers to the way others’ experiences permeate the speaker’s consciousness. “Tend[ing] outward” refers to the way that the speaker leans toward the rest of humanity. Inward and outward are examples of concepts that are related through their opposition to one another. This example stresses the poem’s theme of interconnectedness.

Chiasmus in Kay Ryan’s “He Lit a Fire with Icicles”

In this poem by Kay Ryan, chiasmus shows up quite naturally in the explanation of St. Sebolt’s miracle: lighting a fire with icicles. The phrase, “He struck/ them like a steel/ to flint,” expands on the preceding phrase “lit a fire,” to give the reader a more vivid image of the splendid fire-making icicles.

This was the work
of St. Sebolt, one
of his miracles:
He lit a fire with
icicles. He struck
them like a steel
to flint, did St.
Sebolt…

Notice how the inclusion of the intervening words “one / of his miracles,” doesn’t prevent this from counting as an example of chiasmus.

Chiasmus in Shakespeare’s Othello

In this example from Othello, Iago plants the notion in Othello’s mind that his wife is unfaithful. The two clauses echo each other through synonyms: the verbs “dote” and “love” mirror each other, while the verbs “doubt” and “suspect” are also parallels.

But, oh, what damned minutes tells he o’er
Who dotes, yet doubts, suspects, yet strongly loves…

Chiasmus Examples in Speeches

The most common use of chiasmus is as antimetabole that appears in speeches. Antimetabole’s simplicity, emphatic effect, and knack for turning a phrase in an unexpected direction all make it a more popular tool in speechwriting.

Here are a few examples of chiasmus that are also examples of antimetabole from famous speeches:

“Let us never negotiate out of fear, but let us never fear to negotiate.” -John F. Kennedy
“We shape our buildings, and afterward our buildings shape us.” -Winston Churchill
“We were elected to change Washington, and we let Washington change us.” -John McCain

Chiasmus Examples in Religious Texts

Chiasmus is much more common in many religious passages, particularly in the Christian Bible. In this context, the formality of chiasmus lends itself to the formality of the text.

Chiasmus in Psalms 3:7-8

These verses from Psalm 3 give a more complex example of chiasmus. The passage can be broken down into several parallel phrases. The second clause makes more specific and dramatic the content of the first clause: not only has God “smitten” all the speaker’s enemies, he has broken their teeth. And not only are they the speaker’s enemies, they are furthermore “wicked.” Jehovah parallels God, and “Save me” parallels “the salvation.” (This passage is also an example of epanalepsis, a figure of speech in which the beginning of a clause or sentence is repeated at the end of that same clause or sentence)

Save me, O my God, for thou has smitten all my enemies on the cheek-bone; The teeth of the wicked thou has broken; to Jehovah, the salvation.

Chiasmus in The Book of Mormon, Mosiah 3:18-19

These verses from The Book of Mormon use chiasmus to build an argument for embracing God. In this passage, every single phrase is mirrored by a related phrase. The pattern chiasmus creates here serves to reiterate and elaborate upon ideas. For instance, “become as little children” is expanded, at the end of the passage, to mean, “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things.”

But men drink damnation to their souls except they humble themselves and become as little children, and believe that salvation was, and is, and is to come, through the atoning blood of Christ, the Lord Omnipotent. For the natural man is an enemy to God, and has been from the fall of Adam, and will be, forever and ever, unless he yields to the enticing of the Holy Spirit, and putteth off the natural man, becometh a saint through the atonement of Christ the Lord, and becometh as a child submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things.

Chiasmus in the Quran, 6:95

This example of chiasmus in the Quran is also an example of antimetabole. In this verse, chiasmus is used to stress Allah’s omnipotence, as everything on earth is encompassed in “the living” and “the dead.”

He brings forth the living from the dead, and it is He who brings forth the dead from the living.

Why Do Writers Use Chiasmus?

Writers use chiasmus to present and elaborate upon an idea, to persuade and move an audience, and to lend a harmonious quality to writing through organized, but not always exact, repetition.

Chiasmus Can Present, then Deepen, an Idea

When chiasmus involves repeated concepts rather than simply repeated words (as in antimetabole), the structure can allow an idea to be deepened or expanded in the latter clauses. Take this sentence:

All the schoolchildren were cruel. Killing ants, pinching legs, and stomping on flowers were the favorite habits of the children.

The first half uses the adjective “cruel,” which is abstract. The second half elaborates on that cruelty, adding valuable and concrete detail and imagery. Note that the halves aren’t of symmetrical length—the second half incorporates a much longer element.

Chiasmus is a Persuasive, Dynamic Tool of Rhetoric

Like all figures of speech based on repetition, chiasmus can be a tool to craft persuasive rhetoric. It’s used to reiterate concepts, to condense a complex idea to a manageable size, and to draw connections between contrasting ideas. Though not terribly common, chiasmus appears in various forms, from axioms (“It’s hard to make time, but to waste it is easy”) to rousing rhetoric, often in the form of antimetabole (“Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country). Furthermore, inverted grammar can bring a sense of gravity to a sentence (What is stolen without remorse, with guilt must be repaid).

From https://literarydevices.net/litotes/:

Litotes

Definition of Litotes

Litotes is a figure of speech featuring a phrase that utilizes negative wording or terms to express a positive assertion or statement. Litotes is a common literary device, most often used in speech, rhetoric, and nonfiction. As a figure of speech, the meaning of litotes is not literal. Instead, litotes is intended to be a form of understatement by using negation to express the contrary meaning. This is a clever use of language in its combination of negative terms as a function to express a positive sentiment or statement.

Litotes is a device used to state an affirmative without direct use of affirmative wording. For example, the phrase “I don’t hate it” reflects use of litotes. In this case, juxtaposing the negative words “don’t” and “hate” function together to indicate the opposite meaning or affirmative. In saying “I don’t hate it,” the speaker is actually affirming the sentiment “I like it.” However, since the speaker does not directly say “I like it,” the affirmation is mitigated and downplayed. The use of litotes in this case reflects the speaker’s intention to state a positive without directly affirming it or being too complimentary. Instead of expressing “like” for something, litotes in this case expresses an absence of hate.

Common Examples of Litotes

Litotes is commonly used as an understatement or ironic figure of speech. It is a successful device in that it affirms a positive statement or sentiment typically through the use of double negatives. Here are some common examples of litotes you may find in everyday conversation:

The novel is not bad.
You’re not wrong.
I can’t disagree with your logic.
My feelings are not unhurt.
He is hardly unattractive.
That lesson is not hard.
My car was not cheap.
I won’t argue with the referee.
Visiting family is not uncommon.
The results are not inaccurate.
That compliment is not unwelcome.
I can’t turn down that offer.
The weather is not unpleasant.
His answer was hardly a whisper.
Her decision is not the worst.
The test came back not negative.
That dress is not unlike mine.
I can’t say that I won’t try the dessert.
Your effort has not gone unnoticed.

Examples of Litotes in Rhetoric

Litotes is a common device used in rhetoric. This is primarily because it prompts a listener or reader to carefully consider what is being said. Litotes also allows the speaker or writer to effectively communicate in an atypical way. Here are some examples of litotes in rhetoric (speeches and nonfiction writing):

Indeed, it is not uncommon for slaves even to fall out and quarrel among themselves about the relative goodness of their masters, each contending for the superior goodness of his own over that of the others. (Frederick Douglass)
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, concerned citizens can change world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has. (Margaret Mead)
A designer knows he or she has achieved perfection, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away. (Nolan Haims)
I do not speak of what I cannot praise. (Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe)
He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense. (Joseph Conrad
The problem with speeches isn’t so much not knowing when to stop, as knowing when not to begin. (Frances Rodman)
My father had three wives. Polygamy was not uncommon in that country, especially among the rich, as every man was allowed to keep as many wives as he could maintain. (Venture Smith)

Famous Examples of Litotes in Disney Movie Lines

Many Disney films contain lines that make use of litotes as a figure of speech to emphasize a positive or showcase understatement through using double negative phrasing. This causes the audience to ponder the actual meaning of the statement. Here are some famous examples of litotes in Disney movie lines:

This is no ordinary lamp! (Disney’s Aladdin)
Now, Pooh was not the sort to give up easily. (Disney’s The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)
Sometimes the right path is not the easiest one. (Disney’s Pocahontas)
Success doesn’t come for free. (Disney’s Coco)
He’s no Prince Charming. (Disney’s Beauty and the Beast)

Writing Litotes

Writers often utilize figures of speech to create a specific effect for the reader. As a figure of speech, litotes resembles understatement due to the fact that the intended meaning of the phrase or sentence seems less significant through negative wording. In this way, litotes serve a purpose for writers as method for expressing modesty, discretion, or verbal irony by making a statement about what “is” by stating what “is not.”

Proper Use of Double Negatives

When creating litotes, it’s important for writers to understand the proper use of double negatives. Essentially litotes is similar to a double negative in the sense that it features juxtaposition of negative terms to express a positive. However, double negatives are often considered improper or incorrect grammar. As a literary device, litotes does not feature incorrect or improper grammar. As a result, writers can effectively use litotes as a means of expressing understatement to their readers through a form of double negative. However, it must be grammatically correct.

Examples of Litotes in Literature

Litotes is not utilized frequently as a literary device in literature. However, it is featured in some important literary works as a means of gaining a reader’s attention and expressing meaning in an understated way. Here are some examples of litotes in literature and the way they influence the meaning of the literary work:

Example 1: Sonnet 116 “Let me not to the marriage of true minds” (William Shakespeare)

Let me not to the marriage of true mindsAdmit impediments. Love is not loveWhich alters when it alteration finds,Or bends with the remover to remove.O no! it is an ever-fixed markThat looks on tempests and is never shaken;It is the star to every wand’ring bark,Whose worth’s unknown, although his height be taken.Love’s not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeksWithin his bending sickle’s compass come;Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,But bears it out even to the edge of doom.If this be error and upon me prov’d,I never writ, nor no man ever lov’d.In this well-known sonnet, Shakespeare makes use of litotes as figurative language and an effective literary device. By negating what love is not, the poet is able to express and affirm what love is. For example, when the poet states “Let me not to the marriage of true minds admit impediments,” he is using negative wording to express his desire to not create any interference with the marriage of “true minds.” This figurative language actually affirms the poet’s support and approval of love and marriage between true minds.Shakespeare utilizes another litotes in the sonnet by stating “Love’s not Time’s fool.” By stating that Love is not Time’s “fool,” the poet affirms that Love is not beholden to or manipulated by Time. In addition, this litotes also implies that Love is as wise as Time. As with the first litotes, this figure of speech asserts that Love is strong and steadfast by negating the contrary meaning of Love being Time’s fool. As a result of this literary device, Shakespeare’s reader gains greater clarity as to what love is and how the poet feels about it.

Example 2: The Prelude: Book 1: Childhood and School-time (William Wordsworth)

Not seldom from the uproar I retiredInto a silent bay, or sportivelyGlanced sideway, leaving the tumultuous throng,To cut across the image of a starThat gleam’d upon the iceIn his poetic work, Wordsworth utilizes litotes by pairing the words “not” and “seldom.” This negation implies that the poet means “often” by stating “not seldom.” In this way, he creates a sense of understatement about the frequency with which he separates himself from a crowd or busy environment to appreciate images and the presence of nature. Wordsworth’s use of litotes as a literary device creates a sense of poetic language and introspection for the reader as well as the poet himself. Therefore, paradoxically, by understating how often the poet escapes into nature, it actually emphasizes the importance of the action. The litotes allows the escape to become significant for the reader as well.

Example 3: The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock (T.S. Eliot)

i am no prophet — and here’s no great matter;I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker,And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,And in short, I was afraid.The speaker of Eliot’s poem, Prufrock, utilizes litotes as a significant understatement to describe his fear and vision of death. Prufrock holds out to his reader that he is presenting “no great matter.” This implies that his intention is to make a statement that is not important or impactful. As a litotes, it is also a form of verbal irony, as the “matter” Prufrock subsequently addresses is his own “greatness” diminishing. In addition, Prufrock also addresses his fear as a result of seeing death personified in the poem as the “eternal Footman.”Therefore, what the poet deems as “no great matter” is, in fact, the greatest of matters. He is confronting his demise and mortality. In turn, this results in an admission of fear that is considered universal among humans. This litotes effectively leaves readers to speculate the irony of Prufrock’s figurative language, and consider for themselves whether confronting their own mortality is also no great matter.

From https://literarydevices.net/asyndeton/:

Asyndeton

Definition of Asyndeton

Asyndeton is derived from the Greek word asyndeton, which means “unconnected.” It is a stylistic device used in literature and poetry to intentionally eliminate conjunctions between the phrases, and in the sentence, yet maintain grammatical accuracy. This literary tool helps in reducing the indirect meaning of the phrase, and presents it in a concise form. It was first used in Greek and Latin literature.

Types of Asyndeton

Asyndeton examples may be classified into two types:

Used between words and phrases within a sentence
For example:
“Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils, Shrunk to this little measure?”
(Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 1, by William Shakespeare)
Used between sentences or clauses
For example:
“Without looking, without making a sound, without talking”
(Oedipus at Colonus, by Sophecles)

Difference Between Syndeton and Asyndeton

Syndeton and asyndeton are opposite to one another. Syndeton includes the addition of multiple conjunctions, such as in this example: “He eats and sleeps and drinks.” On the other hand, asyndeton is the elimination, or leaving out, of conjunctions, such as in this example: “He eats, sleeps, drinks.”

Each creates a completely different effect. Syndeton slows down the rhythm of speech, and makes it moderate, whereas asyndeton speeds up the rhythm of the speech.

Examples of Asyndeton in Literature

Example #1: Othello (By William Shakespeare)

IAGO
“Call up her father.
Rouse him. Make after him, Poison his delight,
Proclaim him in the streets. Incense her kinsmen,
And, though he in a fertile climate dwell…”

In this excerpt, Shakespeare has eliminated conjunctions deliberately. There is a shortage of the conjunctions and, for, or, and but, which are required to join the sentences. Due to this, the words have been emphasized, and feelings of anger and jealousy are articulated explicitly.

Example #2: The Scholar-Gipsy (By Matthew Arnold)

“Go, shepherd, and untie the wattled cotes!
No longer leave thy wistful flock unfed,
Nor let thy bawling fellows rack their throats,
Nor the cropp’d herbage shoot another head…
Thou hast not lived, why should’st thou perish, so?
Thou hadst one aim, one business, one desire;
Else wert thou long since numbered with the dead…”

This is a good example of asyndeton. The conjunctions are missing in the sentences, such as the second and sixth lines are not connected with adjoining words. However, it produces speed in the poem.

Example #3: The Winter’s Tale (By William Shakespeare)

“Is whispering nothing?
Is leaning cheek to cheek? is meeting noses?
Kissing with inside lip? stopping the career
Of laughter with a sigh? (a note infallible
Of breaking honesty!) horsing foot on foot? “

In this excerpt, we can observe both types of asyndeton. The first type (between the words) such as “from” is removed between the words “leaning” and “cheek” and similarly the second type (between the sentences) with the sentences not being joined by conjunctions.

Example #4: Rhetoric (By Aristotle)

“This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely…”

The word “and” is not featured in the given lines, which could have functioned as a conjunction here. Aristotle believed that asyndeton could be effective if used in the ending of the texts. Here he himself employed this device.

Example #5: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (By James Joyce)

“Consciousness of place came ebbing back to him slowly over a vast tract of time unlit, unfelt, unlived…”

Joyce has also used this device, omitting the conjunctions in order to give rhythm and pace to the text. Here, we can see the elimination of conjunctions, which could have joined the words unlit, unfelt, and unlived. This creates are creating a frantic and hurried effect.

Function of Asyndeton

Asyndeton helps in speeding up the rhythm of words. Mostly this technique is employed in speech but can be used in written works too. It helps in attracting readers to collaborate with the writers, since it suggests that words, phrases, and sentences are incomplete, and the readers would have to do some work to deduce meanings. This version creates immediate impact, and the readers are attuned to what the author is trying to convey.

Asyndeton is often applied intentionally in order to give a unique emphasis to the text, thereby drawing the attention of readers towards a particular idea the author wants to convey.

From https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms/asyndeton:

Polysyndeton

The prefix “poly” means “much” or “many,” and polysyndeton means that multiple conjunctions are present in close succession. An excellent example appears in Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick:

There was a low rumbling of heavy sea-boots among the benches, and a still slighter shuffling of women’s shoes, and all was quiet again, and every eye on the preacher.

Polysyndeton is essentially the opposite of asyndeton, as it involves the inclusion of more than the expected number of conjunctions while asyndeton involves the omission of conjunctions. Polysyndeton can achieve some of the same effects of emphasis as asyndeton can, but are also unique in their ability to make a reader feel overwhelmed. In this example Melville evokes many simultaneous sensations and the hubbub of people coming into a church, which are all contending for the attention of the narrator.