Polyptoton is a stylistic scheme, in which words derived from the same root are repeated (e.g. "strong" and "strength"). A related stylistic device is antanaclasis, in which the same word is repeated, but each time with a different sense.
Word derives from the Greek poly ("many") and ptotos ("falling") or ptosis ("[grammatical] case")
Examples
- "The Greeks are strong, and skilful to their strength, Fierce to their skill, and to their fierceness valiant; William Shakespeare Troilus and Cressida, I, i, 7-8
- "With eager feeding food doth choke the feeder. William Shakespeare Richard II II,i,37
- "Not as a call to battle, though embattled we are. John F. Kennedy, Inaugural Address, January 20, 1961.
- "Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself." Franklin Delano Roosevelt, First Inaugural Address, March 1933.
References
- Corbett, Edward P.J. Classical Rhetoric for the Modern Student. Oxford University Press, New York, 1971.
See Also