This page must be viewed with IE4 or above, and with Active Scripting enabled.

    

Figures of Omission

Ellipsis

Omission of a word
And he to England shall along with you.---Hamlet, 3.3.1

Zeugma

An ellipsis of a verb, in which one verb is used to govern several clauses
How Tarquin wronged me, I Collatine.---The Rape of Lucrece, 819

Scesis Onamaton

omission of the verb of a sentence
A maid in conversation chaste, in speech mild, in countenance cheerful, in behavior modest ...[etc.]---The Garden of Eloquence

Anapodoton

Omission of a clause
Haply you shall not see me more; or if,/ A mangled Shadow.---Antony and Cleopatra, 4.2.26.

Aposiopesis

Stopping a sentence in midcourse so that the statement is unfinished
He said you were, I dare not tell you plaine:/ For words once out, never returne againe.---The Arte of English Poesie, 139

Occupatio

When the orator feigneth and maketh as though he would say nothing in some matter, when, notwithstanding he speaketh most of all, or when he saith something: in saying he will not say it.---The Garden of Eloquence, 130
I will make no mention of his drunken banquets nightly, and his watching with bawds, dicers, whore masters. I will not name his losses, his luxurity, and staining of his honesty.---The Garden of Eloquence, 131



Back to Home