parataxis [ˌpærəˈtæksɪs] n.
1.) The coordination of successive, equal clauses without expressly showing their syntactic relationship, so that the reader must infer how they are related (Garner's Modern American Usage 3rd Edition).
Etymology: modern adoption of Greek παράταξις, a placing side by side, from παρατάσσειν, to place side by side, from παρα, beside + τάσσειν, to arrange, τάξις, arrangement.
"The light which puts out our eyes is darkness to us. Only that day dawns to which we are awake. There is more day to dawn. The sun is but a morning star" (Walden, Henry David Thoreau, 1854).
(Looking Down Yosemite Valley, Albert Bierstadt, 1865)
1 comment:
It's funny how most of the Greek loanwords in English are in "katharevousa"; if one uses the old form in Greek, they will sound weird but if they use them in English they sound so sophisticated. It's very interesting! (I keep repeating myself, right?)
Back when I was a student, we had to study the Transcedentalists at some point, but now everything is a big mess in my head. Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne, Whitman. I need to take a look at their works again.
p.s: plenty of pens and Game of Thrones is gripping so far (sorry for the long comment)
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