We explain what a pleonasm is, its differences with the oxymoron and examples. Also, vicious pleonasm and other figures of speech.
What is a pleonasm?
A pleonasm or truism is called a Figure of speech which consists of producing a greater intensity in the sentence by adding redundant terms, unnecessary from a formal point of view.
That is, it is in a strict sense the same as redundancy, which is considered an error or at most an improper, inelegant use of the language. However, in cases where such "error" is intentional or carried out for poetic purposes, the term "pleonasm" is preferred (from the Greek pléon, "a lot and asmos, "suddenly").
In any case, both pleonasm and redundancy consist in adding to the prayer words that could be considered unnecessary, because instead of adding new or relevant information, they insist on what is already contained in the sentence or in a word previous, for example: "dividing wall" or "human person". As you can see, both terms contribute the same information, and therefore just one would suffice.
At colloquial language, redundancy can appear as a sentence construction error, but also as a way of emphasizing the content of what has been said, adding identical information in case the message is not captured the first time. In other cases, it may constitute a mechanism for obtaining a poetic effect, as in the poem "Elegy to Ramón Sijé" by the Spanish poet Miguel Hernández (1910-1942):
"I walk on the stubble of the dead,
and without heat from anyone and without consolation
I go from my heart to my affairs.
Death took flight early,
early the morning got up early,
early you're rolling on the ground. "
Thus, in “early morning” the idea of “early” is already included (since those who get up early, that is, at dawn), and in “rolling” it is already contained “on the ground” (because rolling is, precisely, spin on the ground). But the poet chooses the pleonasm for reasons of meter, musicality, and emphasis, and without them the poem would not be as powerful.
Examples of pleonasm
They are common examples of pleonasm in the speaks the following daily:
- "To shut up"
- "Raise up" or "lower down"
- "Final verdict"
- "Unreachable Utopia"
- "Soler often"
- "Time frame"
- "Free gift"
- "Involuntary forgetfulness"
- "Honey from bees"
- "Collective genocide"
- "Eradicate at the root"
Vicious pleonasm
Another of the names of pleonasm, the truism or redundancy is that of vicious pleonasm. That is to say: a pleonasm that has become a vice, in an inelegant and not very correct form of speech, instead of serving as a mechanism of poetic expression or in some elevated form of the language.
Pleonasm and oxymoron
We must not confuse pleonasm and oxymoron, two very common figures of speech. The first introduces an unnecessary repetition or reiteration of what has already been said. Instead, the oxymoron places two mutually exclusive terms next to each other. That is, while the pleonasm is a form of semantic repetition, the oxymoron instead is a form of the metaphor.
Examples of oxymorons are the following: "descent to the heights", "radiant darkness", "famous anonymity" or "brutal delicacy".
Other figures of speech
In addition to the pleonasm and the oxymoron, of which we have already spoken, we can mention other rhetorical figures such as the following:
- Alliteration. It consists of the repetition of sounds within a sentence or phrase, to obtain a sound or expressive effect. It is common in poetry and literary language. For example: "with the wing of the fan" (Rubén Darío).
- Ellipse. Figure contrary to pleonasm, consists of the omission of words or terms in the sentence that, despite being grammatically necessary, do not prevent the transmission of the message. For example: "I used to buy cigarettes, and my sister a magazine."
- Asyndeton. It consists of the elimination of links or conjunctions which should normally appear within the sentence, for example when it is an enum. For example: "I came, I saw, I conquered" (Julius Caesar).
- Polysyndeton. Figure contrary to asyndeton, which instead of suppressing conjunctions, adds them excessively to seek a repetitive effect. For example: “There is a palace and a river and a lake and an old bridge…” (Juan Ramón Jiménez).
- Cataphor. It consists of the anticipation within the sentence of something that will be expressed later, to achieve a more dramatic or expressive effect. For example: "I told you, not to follow that path."
- Hyperbaton. Literary figure in which the usual order of the sentence is altered, that is, its syntax, to get a sentence that says the same thing in a more poetically relevant or expressive way. For example: "The dark swallows will return / their nests to hang on your balcony" (Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer).