Parataxis in writing refers to the use of simple declarative sentences or independent clauses, strung side by side. They may be written with or without conjunctions. As a literary device, it can focus the reader on a particular idea, emotion, or setting. Each sentence reinforces the impression made by the previous one, creating a powerful overall effect.
Derived from a Greek expression meaning “side by side,” parataxis puts together a series of clauses that can stand alone. Rather than mixing longer and shorter sentences, it achieves its effect by keeping the clauses together, letting them explain each other as one idea.
For instance, Julius Caesar aptly summed up his power with the paratactic declaration “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Parataxis is also a useful device in describing a setting. It is used in the Book of Genesis of the Bible to describe the creation of the world from nothing. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”
Derived from a Greek expression meaning “side by side,” parataxis puts together a series of clauses that can stand alone. Rather than mixing longer and shorter sentences, it achieves its effect by keeping the clauses together, letting them explain each other as one idea.
For instance, Julius Caesar aptly summed up his power with the paratactic declaration “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Parataxis is also a useful device in describing a setting. It is used in the Book of Genesis of the Bible to describe the creation of the world from nothing. “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.”