Enallage
Encyclopedia
Enallage is a term used to mean the substitution of one grammatical form for another (possibly incorrect) one.
of a pronoun
can be altered to stress the responsibility of the individual as part of a group. In the Book of Exodus when God
is speaking to the Israelites through Moses
he uses (in the English translation of the Bible) the plural of you, ye, to refer to them: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians…” (Exodus 19.4). However, during the narration of the Ten Commandments
, which are clearly told to the people of Israel
, the singular is used: “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20.13-15). This is done to stress the personal responsibilities of the Israelites.
example, the female speaker says to her lover, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth…” (Song of Solomon
1.2). After addressing him in the third person
, she switches to the second person
: “for thy love is better than wine” (Song of Solomon 1.2). This serves to attract her lover more strongly.
to the passive voice
is another method of enallage. “I hit Jim” is much more direct and blunt than “Jim was hit by me” and it also implies much more responsibility.
, I, ii) to achieve parallel structure. Ordinarily this would read "Is there not war? Is there not employment?" but Shakespeare pluralizes war. Byron states, “The idols are broke in the temple of Baal
.” Here he uses the past tense
form of break instead of the past participle, broken, which should be used.
Another noted example is professional prize fight manager Joe Jacobs' 1932 cry of We was robbed! after his fighter lost a decision. Arthur Quinn writes that Jacobs achieves "linguistic immortality" through this utterance.4
A colorful Lake Charles, Louisiana, politician Johnny Myers, who has sinced passed on, was once heard to say in a political speech, "I ain't got no dogs in that fight!" Of course, this was and is horrible grammar, but it was Johnny Myers' use of a good home-spun rhetorical device--known as enallage, coupled with his "dogfighting" metaphor--to make his point emphatically and effectively that he was not involved in a particular political dispute.
Pluralization
Enallage can be used poetically to emphasize the subject of a sentence. This can be done in many ways. For instance, the numberGrammatical number
In linguistics, grammatical number is a grammatical category of nouns, pronouns, and adjective and verb agreement that expresses count distinctions ....
of a pronoun
Pronoun
In linguistics and grammar, a pronoun is a pro-form that substitutes for a noun , such as, in English, the words it and he...
can be altered to stress the responsibility of the individual as part of a group. In the Book of Exodus when God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
is speaking to the Israelites through Moses
Moses
Moses was, according to the Hebrew Bible and Qur'an, a religious leader, lawgiver and prophet, to whom the authorship of the Torah is traditionally attributed...
he uses (in the English translation of the Bible) the plural of you, ye, to refer to them: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians…” (Exodus 19.4). However, during the narration of the Ten Commandments
Ten Commandments
The Ten Commandments, also known as the Decalogue , are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship, which play a fundamental role in Judaism and most forms of Christianity. They include instructions to worship only God and to keep the Sabbath, and prohibitions against idolatry,...
, which are clearly told to the people of Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, the singular is used: “Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20.13-15). This is done to stress the personal responsibilities of the Israelites.
Person
Enallage is also used to bring the speaker’s message more strongly to the listener. Again using a BiblicalBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
example, the female speaker says to her lover, “Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth…” (Song of Solomon
Song of Solomon
The Song of Songs of Solomon, commonly referred to as Song of Songs or Song of Solomon, is a book of the Hebrew Bible—one of the megillot —found in the last section of the Tanakh, known as the Ketuvim...
1.2). After addressing him in the third person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
, she switches to the second person
Grammatical person
Grammatical person, in linguistics, is deictic reference to a participant in an event; such as the speaker, the addressee, or others. Grammatical person typically defines a language's set of personal pronouns...
: “for thy love is better than wine” (Song of Solomon 1.2). This serves to attract her lover more strongly.
Voice
Switching a sentence from the active voiceActive voice
Active voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. It is the unmarked voice for clauses featuring a transitive verb in nominative–accusative languages, including English and most other Indo-European languages....
to the passive voice
Passive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
is another method of enallage. “I hit Jim” is much more direct and blunt than “Jim was hit by me” and it also implies much more responsibility.
Incorrect Grammar
Another use of enallage is to give a sentence improper grammar to achieve an effect. Shakespeare asks, “‘Is there not wars? Is there not employment?’” (2nd Henry IVHenry IV, Part 2
Henry IV, Part 2 is a history play by William Shakespeare, believed written between 1596 and 1599. It is the third part of a tetralogy, preceded by Richard II and Henry IV, Part 1 and succeeded by Henry V.-Sources:...
, I, ii) to achieve parallel structure. Ordinarily this would read "Is there not war? Is there not employment?" but Shakespeare pluralizes war. Byron states, “The idols are broke in the temple of Baal
Baal
Baʿal is a Northwest Semitic title and honorific meaning "master" or "lord" that is used for various gods who were patrons of cities in the Levant and Asia Minor, cognate to Akkadian Bēlu...
.” Here he uses the past tense
Past tense
The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future...
form of break instead of the past participle, broken, which should be used.
Another noted example is professional prize fight manager Joe Jacobs' 1932 cry of We was robbed! after his fighter lost a decision. Arthur Quinn writes that Jacobs achieves "linguistic immortality" through this utterance.4
A colorful Lake Charles, Louisiana, politician Johnny Myers, who has sinced passed on, was once heard to say in a political speech, "I ain't got no dogs in that fight!" Of course, this was and is horrible grammar, but it was Johnny Myers' use of a good home-spun rhetorical device--known as enallage, coupled with his "dogfighting" metaphor--to make his point emphatically and effectively that he was not involved in a particular political dispute.