Enallage in Literature: Introduction
Enallage in literature introduces intentional grammatical deviations from standard usage to achieve specific stylistic effects. Originating from the Greek word “enallagma,” meaning “interchange” or “exchange,” enallage involves the substitution or interchange of grammatical elements such as tense, person, number, or case. Employed by authors to add nuance and creativity to language, enallage disrupts the conventional structure of sentences, creating expressive ambiguity, emphasizing certain ideas, or contributing to the overall artistic impact of the text. Through this deliberate departure from grammatical norms, enallage engages readers in a dynamic interpretation, prompting them to decipher the intentional linguistic variations and uncover deeper layers of meaning within literary works.
Enallage in Literature: Shakespearean Examples
| lay | Quote | Type of Enallage | Explanation |
| Macbeth | “If you can look into the seeds of time…” | Person Enallage | Shakespeare uses “you” instead of the expected “one” for a poetic effect, deviating from the formal tone. |
| Hamlet | “To be or not to be, that is the question.” | Number Enallage | The interchange of “To be” and “not to be” emphasizes the existential dilemma and introduces a sense of linguistic balance. |
| Romeo and Juliet | “These violent delights have violent ends.” | Case Enallage | The use of “violent” in both adjective and noun forms adds rhetorical emphasis, contributing to the tragic tone of the passage. |
| Othello | “Were it my cue to fight, I should have known it.” | Tense Enallage | Shakespeare uses “were” instead of “was,” employing the subjunctive mood to convey hypothetical or unreal situations. |
| A Midsummer Night’s Dream | “The more you beat me, I will fawn on you.” | Person Enallage | The interchange of “you” and “me” plays with the dynamics of power and submission, adding complexity to the character’s speech. |
| King Lear | “O, let me not be mad, not mad, sweet heaven!” | Repetition Enallage | The repetition of “not mad” intensifies the character’s plea, highlighting the internal struggle and emotional turmoil. |
| The Tempest | “This thing of darkness, I acknowledge mine.” | Person Enallage | The use of “mine” instead of “my” emphasizes ownership, creating a distinct and memorable line within the play. |
| Twelfth Night | “If music be the food of love, play on.” | Case Enallage | The use of “love” instead of “loves” allows for a more timeless and universal expression, contributing to the poetic quality of the line. |
| Julius Caesar | “But, for my own part, it was Greek to me.” | Person Enallage | The use of “for my own part” adds a personal touch to the expression, conveying a subjective perspective on understanding. |
| Richard III | “Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer by this sun of York.” | Tense Enallage | The interchange of “is” and “was” plays with the temporal aspects, symbolizing the transformation of discontent into a brighter future. |
These examples showcase Shakespeare’s masterful use of enallage, employing grammatical variations to enhance the rhetorical impact and expressive depth of his iconic plays.
Enallage in Literature: Examples
- Edgar Allan Poe – “The Tell-Tale Heart”
- “Villains! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks! here, here!—It is the beating of his hideous heart!”
- Type: Person Enallage
- Explanation: Poe uses “Villains” to address the reader or society in general, deviating from the expected pronoun, creating a dramatic effect.
- Flannery O’Connor – “A Good Man Is Hard to Find”
- “She would’ve been a good woman if it had been somebody there to shoot her every minute of her life.”
- Type: Person Enallage
- Explanation: O’Connor uses “it had been” instead of “there had been,” altering the sentence structure for emphasis and impact.
- Herman Melville – “Bartleby, the Scrivener”
- “I would prefer not to.”
- Type: Tense Enallage
- Explanation: Bartleby’s recurring statement uses “would” instead of “will,” introducing a subtle nuance of hesitation and refusal.
- Raymond Carver – “Cathedral”
- “What’s his name is in the Army. He lost a leg in Vietnam.”
- Type: Adjective/Noun Enallage
- Explanation: Carver uses “What’s his name” instead of “His name,” employing a casual expression to convey uncertainty or forgetfulness.
- Alice Munro – “Boys and Girls”
- “Then I decided I would offer to take care of the horse.”
- Type: Person Enallage
- Explanation: Munro uses “I would offer” instead of “I decided to offer,” creating a nuanced expression of contemplation and decision-making.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne – “Young Goodman Brown”
- “Had goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest and only dreamed a wild dream of a witch-meeting?”
- Type: Tense Enallage
- Explanation: Hawthorne uses “Had” to pose a hypothetical question, employing past perfect tense to convey a speculative tone.
- Anton Chekhov – “The Lady with the Dog”
- “He began to speak of culture, of men of science, of the theatre, of music.”
- Type: Case Enallage
- Explanation: Chekhov uses “men of science” instead of “men of sciences,” employing a stylistic choice in the use of the plural.
- Katherine Mansfield – “The Garden Party”
- “She had a little brother who died at birth, and every year on his birthday, just like that, she saw him.”
- Type: Person Enallage
- Explanation: Mansfield uses “just like that” to create a colloquial and emotionally charged expression, deviating from a more formal structure.
These examples illustrate how enallage is employed in short stories to enhance the narrative, create specific effects, and engage the reader with varied and intentional language choices.
Enallage in Literature: Relevance in Literary Theories
| Literary Theory | Relevance of Enallage |
| Formalism | Enallage contributes to the form and structure of a text, allowing for the analysis of intentional grammatical deviations. |
| Reader-Response | Enallage engages readers actively, prompting them to interpret the intentional linguistic variations and derive deeper meanings. |
| Structuralism | Enallage can be seen as a structural element, disrupting linguistic norms and contributing to the overall meaning of a text. |
| Psychoanalytic | Enallage may reflect unconscious elements, offering insights into characters’ psychological states through linguistic choices. |
| Feminist Criticism | Enallage can be examined for gender dynamics, revealing how language choices may influence the portrayal of female and male characters. |
| Postcolonialism | Enallage may highlight linguistic complexities, reflecting power dynamics and cultural shifts in a postcolonial context. |
| Marxist Criticism | Enallage can be analyzed concerning social class struggles, showcasing how linguistic variations may reflect power relations. |
| Deconstruction | Enallage aligns with deconstructive principles by revealing the instability of language and meaning, encouraging multiple interpretations. |
These are generalizations, and the relevance of enallage can vary based on the specific context of each literary work and the interpretation within each theoretical framework.
Enallage in Literature: Relevant Terms
- Enallage: Intentional grammatical deviation from standard usage for stylistic effects.
- Tense Enallage: Alteration of grammatical tense for expressive purposes.
- Person Enallage: Change in grammatical person, enhancing narrative perspectives.
- Number Enallage: Substitution or interchange of singular and plural forms.
- Case Enallage: Alteration of grammatical case for rhetorical emphasis.
- Adjective/Noun Enallage: Substituting one adjective or noun for another to convey nuanced meaning.
- Double Negative Enallage: Use of multiple negatives for emphasis or colloquial expression.
- Repetition Enallage: Deliberate repetition of words or phrases for rhetorical impact.
- Literal Meaning: Observable grammatical variations contributing to textual nuances.
- Conceptual Meaning: Broader interpretation focusing on the expressive and artistic impact.
Enallage in Literature: Suggested Readings
- Barthes, Roland. Image, Music, Text. Hill and Wang, 1977.
- Brooks, Cleanth, and Robert Penn Warren. Understanding Poetry. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1960.
- Culler, Jonathan. Literary Theory: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press, 1997.
- Genette, Gérard. Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method. Cornell University Press, 1983.
- Lanham, Richard A. A Handlist of Rhetorical Terms. University of California Press, 1991.
- Lodge, David. The Art of Fiction. Vintage, 1993.
- Perrine, Laurence. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
- Roberts, Edgar V., and Henry E. Jacobs. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Prentice Hall, 2003.
- Shklovsky, Viktor. Theory of Prose. Dalkey Archive Press, 1991.
- Wimsatt, William K., and Monroe C. Beardsley. The Verbal Icon: Studies in the Meaning of Poetry. University Press of Kentucky, 1954.
