As writers, we don’t just use words to state facts but to make our readers feel our characters’ experiences. We want our writing to be evocative and immersive. In other words, we want our prose to sound pretty. How exactly, though, do we achieve well-crafted prose? Are people born eloquent, or do they have eloquence thrust upon them? Regardless of whether or not you naturally have an ear for eloquence, the art of writing beautiful prose is a skill that can be learned. A good place to start is to build up your toolkit of writing techniques. To help you in this endeavour, I’m putting together an ongoing series to help teach you some common techniques for crafting pretty prose. Today, let’s take a look at two writing techniques: polysyndeton and asyndeton.

People skim over normal sentence structure. What’s strange sticks out. Both polysyndeton and asyndeton are writing techniques that create emphasis through unusual sentence structure. Specifically, these two techniques mess around with typical conjunction placement. So, before you can understand what polysyndetons and asyndetons are, you need to understand what conjunctions are.

What Are Conjunctions?

Conjunctions are abstract words that join two separate items or ideas together. You can think of a conjunction as a link that is joining two separate things together. Here are some examples of conjunctions:

• I went home and read a book.
• We wanted to visit the museum, but we didn’t have time.
• Caleb distracted the clerk while Sarah snuck into the back room.
• I was able to start writing once I had finished walking the dog.

In these examples, the words and, but, while, and once are all conjunctions.

There are two main types of conjunctions: coordinating conjunctions and subordinating conjunctions. Coordinating conjunctions connect two independent items or ideas together. In English, we have a total of seven coordinating conjunctions. If you need to memorize these conjunctions, you can remember them by the acronym FANBOYS:

• For
• And
• Nor
• But
• Or
• Yet
• So

The other type of conjunction is called a subordinating conjunction. Subordinating conjunctions connect two dependent ideas together. Here are some examples of subordinating conjunctions:

• I prefer physical books because I love the feel of paper in my hands.
• We can still get there in time if we hurry.
• The show will start when everyone has found their seats.

All of these subordinating conjunctions are connecting two ideas that depend on each other to maintain their meaning. With coordinating conjunctions, you can split the two ideas apart into separate sentences, and the meaning of those two ideas will remain largely the same.

Now, here’s the part that is most relevant to polysyndtons and asyndetons.

Conjunctions in Lists

You can also use some coordinating conjunctions to connect items in a list. However, to avoid repetition, we usually only put the conjunction before the last item in a list and simply put a comma between all the other preceding items. Here are some examples of how conjunctions in lists typically work:

• To prepare for the hike, I packed some water, cheese, fruit, and nuts.
• Surely she would never lie, steal, or cheat.
• I hung up the canvas, pulled out my supplies, and began to paint.

Now that we know how conjunctions in lists normally work, let’s take a look at how we can mess with this typical sentence structure for artistic effect.

What Is a Polysyndeton?

A polysyndeton is when you put a coordinating conjunction between every item in a list. So, instead of saying “x, y, and z” or “x, y, or, z,” a polysyndeton is when you instead say “x and y and z” or “x or y or z.”

This unusual structure creates emphasis. Because a polysyndeton adds unusual wordiness to your text, it allows you to create a sense of abundance, which makes it best suited to scenes that are meant to feel ecstatic or manic or otherwise overwhelming.

Here’s an example from Lemony Snicket’s The Wide Window:

The wind blew colder and colder, and it rained harder and harder, and the room became more and more unpleasant.

This polysyndeton serves to emphasize the overwhelming unpleasantness of the room.

Here’s another example of polysyndeton from The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern:

The artist on this platform holds pieces of flame in her bare hands, and she forms them into snakes and flowers and all manner of shapes.

The polysyndeton here emphasizes the awe of witnessing a wild and dangerous and wonderous display of artistry.

So, anytime you describe something that your characters find intense, consider whether a polysyndeton would help immerse the reader in the characters’ experiences.

What Is an Asyndeton?

Conversely, an asyndeton is when you omit a conjunction where there would normally be one. This unusual structure again creates emphasis. Because we expect there to be a conjunction before the last item in a list, asyndetons surprise readers with their short suddenness. You can use asyndetons to make a scene feel cold, curt, sharp, bare.

Here’s an example of asyndeton from Lord of the Flies by William Golding:

We saw no houses, no smoke, no footprints, no boats, no people.

The asyndeton here emphasizes the disjointedness of unexpected isolation.

Here’s another example from The Night Circus:

In this tent, suspended high above you, there are people. Acrobats, trapeze artists, aerialists.

Here, the asyndeton emphasizes the shock and awe of finding so many performers suspended high above you. So, anytime you are writing a scene that’s sudden, disjointed, or otherwise surprising, consider whether an asyndeton would help immerse the reader in the characters’ experiences.

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