Syntax A Manner of Analysis

Syntax-Word Order There are three basic types of syntax at which to attack literature: – Sentence Length – Sentence Type – Sentence Structure

Sentence Lengths Telegraphic: Shorter than five words – Your feet stink. Short: Around five to ten words – Your big ugly feet smell like two dead squirrels. Medium: Approximately 18 words – Those gargantuan gnarled appendages you call feet stink like the maggot-encrusted liver of a rotting squirrel in summer. Long: About 30 words or more – Those gargantuan gnarled appendages that are currently flopping like a lame fish on the back of my desk stink like the leftover carcass of a cat in July once it’s exploded on the pavement and been lapped up by a stray dog with breath so bad it no longer has teeth.

Types of Sentences Declarative: Makes a statement – You suck. Imperative: Commands – Go lick a toilet. Interrogative: Questions – Will you pull my finger? Exclamatory: Exclaims – Wow! (When these are written, they imply that the person is yelling. Don’t write one unless you intend to yell. It’s like KANYE-KING-OF- CAPS)

Sentence Structures Simple (one subject/one verb) Compound (two independent clauses joined by coordinating conjunction or semi-colon) Complex (one independent clause with one or more dependent clauses) Compound-Complex (a combo of the above) **Please see grammar sheet for further examples

Sentence Structures Loose Sentence (Cumulative): The independent clause comes first, followed by dependent units such as phrases or clauses. We understand the point from the beginning. – The students groaned at the assignment, furrowing their brows in annoyance, rolling their eyes at Ms. Keeler. – Carl read, giving himself carpal-tunnel from his e-reader. Periodic Sentence: It only makes sense when you reach the end. It is emphatic and formal. – Rolling their eyes at Ms. Keeler and furrowing their brows in annoyance at the assignment, the students groaned. – Giving himself carpal-tunnel from his e-reader, Carl read.

Sentence Structures Convoluted Sentence: A periodic sentence in which the subordinate elements are split. – The students, furrowing their brows in annoyance and rolling their eyes at Ms. Keeler, groaned at the assignment. – Carl giving himself carpal-tunnel from his e-reader read. Parallel Structure: The words and parts are in the same order and tense. – I like reading, painting, and cooking. – The nuns painted the wall a stark white, while the taggers plotted how soon they could desecrate it

Sentence Structure Balanced Sentence: The phrases and clauses balance each other in likeness of meaning, structure, and length. – It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. – Some like it hot, and some like it cold. – Shut your mouth before I shut it for you. Antithesis: A balanced sentence in which the two elements sharply contrast one another. – Cattiness is a cold war staged by women; macho is a hotter war fought by men.

Sentence Order (Structure) Natural Order: Subject before predicate – I eat ice cream in the winter. Inverted Order: Predicate before subject – In the winter, I eat ice cream. Split Order: divides the predicate with the subject in the middle. – In the winter, ice cream I eat. Inversion: purposely inverts standard word order. It is often used for emphasis. Her the boys ogle as she walks down the halls; her the girls shun when she enters the classroom.

Repetition – Used to emphasize a point. Anaphora: The repetition of the same phrase at the beginning of two successive clauses. I didn’t like calculus, I didn’t like chemistry, but I loved literature. Antistrophe: The repetition of the same phrase or word at the end of successive clauses. – I don’t like calculus, I can’t understand calculus, and I will fail calculus.

Repetition Anadiplosis: Using the same term at the end of one clause and the beginning of the next. – To read Ulysses is to comprehend stream-of- consciousness; to comprehend stream-of- consciousness is to dedicate hours of my life. Epanalepsis: When the sentence begins and ends with the same word. – War begets war.

Repetition Chiasmus or Antimetabole: Reversal of Key Terms – If there had never been a rebellion to our dress code there never would have been a dress code to rebel against. Elliptical Structure: parallel structure when a key term or subject is missing, but understood. – Books are among the best of things, well used; abused, the worst. Antanclasis: the repetition of a word in which its meaning changes the second time. – If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. Polyptoton: repeating the same cognate (different forms of one word) – Life is worth living

Catalog A list or series Polysyndeton: Placing a conjunction after every term but the last – It is the season of football and cross-country and cheerleading, when the leaves begin to fall. Asyndeton: the list is only separated by commas. – His beats, his shoes, his rep—that is all he regarded.

Other Terms Rhetorical Question: – Who doesn’t know what this is? Juxtaposition: purposeful placement of opposing ideas, words, or phrases. – The whole premise was beautifully ugly: to bribe the mayor was dangerous. – Rough in the ghetto, but in jail he’s like Jello. Zuegma: a pun involving a verb when the verb has two meanings with objects that complement both meanings – She left his apartment with tarnished virtue and a new mink.

Other Terms Periphrasis: When the writer uses extra words to convey an idea that could be easily conveyed with fewer words – The manner in which you have conducted yourself in my presence as of late has been offensive and rude. Juxtaposition: purposeful placement of opposing ideas, words, or phrases. – The whole premise was beautifully ugly: to bribe the mayor was dangerous. – Rough in the ghetto, but in jail he’s like Jello. Zuegma: a pun involving a verb when the verb has two meanings with objects that complement both meanings – She left his apartment with tarnished virtue and a new mink.