Asyndeton and its Interpretation in Latin Literature
History, Patterns, Textual Criticism

The most comprehensive account of asyndetic coordination in Latin, genre by genre, ever attempted.

J. N. Adams (Author)

9781108837859, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 3 June 2021

780 pages
24 x 15.8 x 4.7 cm, 1.26 kg

Asyndetic coordination (omission of coordinators such as 'but', 'or', 'and') is ancient in Indo-European languages. Most commentaries on Greek and Latin texts index 'asyndeton', but wide-ranging treatments of asyndeton across a variety of literary and non-literary genres are largely lacking, and comments are often impressionistic. This book provides the most comprehensive account of asyndeton in Latin ever attempted, and it also contains material from Greek and Umbrian. It analyses asyndeta in diverse genres from early Latin to the early Empire, including prayers and laws, and aims to identify types, determinants, generic variations and chronological changes. Since coordinators are easily left out or added by scribes, criteria are discussed that might be used by editors in deciding between asyndeton and coordination. External influences on Latin, such as Greek and Italic, are also considered. The book will be essential for all scholars of Latin language and literature as well as historical linguistics.

Part I. Introduction: 1. Asyndetic and syndetic coordination: definitions and types
2. 'Asyndeta' that may not be asyndeta: roles of adjectives
appositional compounds
and 'asyndetic hendiadys'
3. Asyndeton versus coordination, an introduction
4. Lists of two types
5. Supposed 'effects' of asyndeton
Part II. 'Grammatical' Types: 6. Asyndetic pairs (mainly of adjectives) of which at least one member is a term with a negative prefix
7. Simple verb + compound in asyndeton
8. Juxtaposition of active and passive forms of the same verb
9. Asyndetic pairs of verbs of different tense or mood
10. Pairs of imperatives
11. Masculine-feminine pairs
12. Recapitulation: 'Grammatical' types and their distribution
Part III. Semantic Types: 13. Pairs of opposites
14. Pairs denoting family members
15. 'Semantic' types: some conclusions
Part IV. Structures: 16. Rule of ascending length (?)
17. Correlative distribution
18. End-of-list coordination and 'weak' asyndeton bimembre
19. Accumulations of asyndeta: a few patterns
20. Discontinuous asyndeton and conjunct hyperbaton
21. Asyndetic pairs dependent on a single preposition
Part V. Genres and Texts: 22. Laws and prayers
23. Plautus
24. Virgil and early high-style poetry
25. Lucilius
26. Cicero
27. Catullus
28. Caesar, Bellum Ciuile: asyndeton and textual criticism
29. Horace
30. The Annalists, Sallust and Tacitus
31. Livy
Part VI. Conclusions: 32. Asyndeton in Latin.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: classical, early & medieval [DSBB], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Historical & comparative linguistics [CFF]