# Polysyndeton > Repeating a conjunction between every item in a series ("and this and this and this") to slow the rhythm and give each item weight. Its opposite, asyndeton, drops the conjunctions: "I came, I saw, I conquered." ## In practice Polysyndeton is the deliberate repetition of conjunctions, usually "and" or "or", between items in a list or a series of clauses, where ordinary grammar would use commas. "We had bread and cheese and wine and nothing else" is polysyndeton; "We had bread, cheese and wine" is not. The extra conjunctions slow the sentence down and give each item its own weight. Its opposite is asyndeton, which leaves the conjunctions out altogether: "I came, I saw, I conquered." Where polysyndeton piles things up and makes a list feel endless, overwhelming or solemn, asyndeton makes it fast, clipped and decisive. Writers choose between them for rhythm and effect, not grammar. Both devices are old. The King James Bible is full of polysyndeton, Julius Caesar's "Veni, vidi, vici" is the most famous asyndeton, and modern writers from Ernest Hemingway to Cormac McCarthy use the repeated "and" as a signature. In a [screenplay](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/screenplay), the same choice shapes action lines and the rhythm of a character's speech. ## Two ways to tell the same loss **A kitchen, the morning after a flood** ``` INT. FARMHOUSE KITCHEN - MORNING Mud to the knees. JUNE (60s) stands in it and looks at what is left. Her son TOMAS (30s) wades in behind her with a shovel. JUNE It took the table and the chairs and your father's books and the photographs and the dog's bed and the whole winter's flour. TOMAS We'll dig. Dry it out. Start over. June does not answer. She picks a single spoon out of the mud. ``` June speaks in polysyndeton: every "and" adds another loss, and the list feels like it could go on forever, which is how grief feels. Tomas answers in asyndeton, short clauses with no conjunctions, the rhythm of someone who wants to move past the list and get to work. The two rhythms tell us who these people are before either of them says what they feel. ## What polysyndeton is The word comes from Greek polysyndetos, "bound together with many": poly, many, and syndetos, bound together. Polysyndeton places a conjunction between every item in a series instead of only before the last. It is a figure of repetition, close kin to [anaphora](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/anaphora), which repeats words at the start of clauses. The device works because readers expect the usual pattern of commas and one final "and". Breaking that pattern makes every item land separately, so a list feels heavier, longer or more relentless than it would otherwise. It can also suggest breathlessness, a child's excited telling, or the slow, ritual pace of scripture. The conjunction is usually "and", but "or" and "nor" work too: "neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night" (the unofficial motto of the U.S. Postal Service) uses "nor" four times to make the list of obstacles feel exhaustive. ## Polysyndeton vs asyndeton Asyndeton, from Greek asyndetos, "unconnected", is the omission of conjunctions between items: "I came, I saw, I conquered" rather than "I came and I saw and I conquered." The two are opposites and are often taught together. Their effects are opposite too. Polysyndeton slows the pace and gives each item weight, so it suits accumulation, awe, exhaustion and grief. Asyndeton speeds the pace and makes a series feel urgent, complete or decisive. John F. Kennedy's inaugural address uses it: "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe." Asyndeton is sometimes confused with parataxis, the placing of clauses side by side without subordinating one to another. The two overlap but are not the same: parataxis is about sentence structure and can still use "and", while asyndeton is specifically the dropping of conjunctions. "I came, I saw, I conquered" is both. ## Examples of polysyndeton and asyndeton The King James Bible is the classic source of polysyndeton. Genesis begins: "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." The chain of "and" gives the creation story its steady, solemn rhythm. Ernest Hemingway and Cormac McCarthy built styles on it. In McCarthy's The Road, sentences run on with "and" after "and" as the father and son walk, scavenge and sleep, so the prose itself feels like the long, repeated labor of survival. For asyndeton, Caesar's "Veni, vidi, vici" and Abraham Lincoln's "government of the people, by the people, for the people" in the Gettysburg Address are the standard examples. Both drop the conjunction so the series lands like a hammer blow. ## Polysyndeton in screenwriting Action lines can use polysyndeton to make a moment feel overwhelming: "The sirens and the smoke and the screaming and the glass." Used once at the right moment, it slows the reader down and makes them feel the chaos. Used everywhere, it becomes a tic that makes a script tiring to read. In [dialogue](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/dialogue), the rhythm of conjunctions is [characterization](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/characterization). A child, a nervous witness or a grieving parent may speak in long chains of "and", while a soldier, a surgeon or a detective under pressure speaks in clipped asyndeton. Giving two characters opposite rhythms, as in the excerpt above, shows a difference between them without stating it. Read the line aloud. Both devices are about sound, and an actor will feel the difference immediately. If a repeated "and" does not add weight, cut it back to commas; if a list sounds rushed when it should sound heavy, put the conjunctions back. ## How to use polysyndeton Use it for accumulation. Polysyndeton is strongest when the point is that there is too much: too many losses, too many tasks, too many wonders. The repeated conjunction makes the reader feel the pile growing. Order the items with care. Because each item gets its own stress, the series has a shape. Build toward the heaviest or most surprising item, or end on the smallest one for a quieter, sadder effect. Save it for the moments that need it. A single passage of polysyndeton in an otherwise plain style stands out; a whole book of it becomes a voice. Decide which you want, and make the rhythm serve what the scene is about. ## Official sources & context Sources reviewed Nov 2, 2026 - [Merriam-Webster — Polysyndeton](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polysyndeton) - [Wikipedia — Asyndeton](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asyndeton) ## Common questions ### What is an example of polysyndeton? "We lived and laughed and loved and left" is polysyndeton: "and" appears between every verb. A classic literary example is the opening of Genesis in the King James Bible, where nearly every clause begins with "and". ### What is polysyndeton in simple terms? Polysyndeton is using more conjunctions than you need, such as "and" between every item in a list instead of only before the last one. It slows the sentence down and makes each item feel important. ### What is the difference between polysyndeton and asyndeton? Polysyndeton adds conjunctions between every item ("and this and this and this"); asyndeton removes them ("this, this, this"). Polysyndeton slows a series down and adds weight, while asyndeton speeds it up and makes it feel urgent or decisive. ### What is an example of asyndeton? Julius Caesar's "Veni, vidi, vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered") is the most famous example. Lincoln's "of the people, by the people, for the people" is another: both drop the conjunction between items. ### What is the difference between asyndeton and parataxis? Parataxis places clauses side by side without making one depend on another, and it may still use "and". Asyndeton specifically leaves out the conjunctions. A sentence like "I came, I saw, I conquered" is both paratactic and asyndetic. ### What is a polysyndetic list? A polysyndetic list is a series with a conjunction between every item, such as "apples and pears and plums and figs." A list without any conjunctions is called asyndetic. ### How do you pronounce polysyndeton? It is pronounced pol-ee-SIN-dih-ton, with the stress on SIN. Asyndeton is pronounced uh-SIN-dih-ton. ## Related terms - [Anaphora](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/anaphora): The repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive sentences or clauses, used to build rhythm and emphasis in speeches, poems and dialogue. - [Alliteration](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/alliteration): The repetition of the same starting sound in words close together: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers," "busy as a bee." It makes names, titles, slogans and lines of dialogue stick. - [Diction](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/diction): A writer's choice of words, and the attitude those words carry. "Passed away" and "croaked" report the same death; the diction tells you who is speaking and how they feel. - [Tone](https://www.inkwell.software/glossary/tone): The writer's or narrator's attitude toward the subject and the audience, shown through word choice, detail and rhythm: wry, somber, playful, bitter, warm. The same events told in a different tone become a different story. --- Canonical page: