Antanaclasis: or, Word-Clashing Repetition of the same Word in the same Sentence, with Different Meanings
Ant´-an-a-cla´-sis, from ἀντί (anti), against or back, ἀνά (ana), up, and κλάσις (klasis), a breaking from κλάω (klaô), to break . Hence, a breaking up against . This name is given to this figure; because, when a word has been used once in a sentence in its plain and natural sense, it is used again in the same sentence in another sense which breaks up against it . It is the use of the same word in the same sentence in two different senses. It is essential to this figure that the two words must be the same in spelling. * [Note: This differs from a Homonym (see Appendix D), which is a different word though spelt in the same way.] When they are similar in spelling but alike in sound, the figure is known by another name, Paronomasia (q.v. [Note: Which see.]).
It is in frequent use in all languages: e.g., “while we live, let us live ”: or “learn some craft while you are young that when you are old you may live without craft. ”
When the Declaration of American Independence was being signed, Hancock said, “We must be unanimous; there must be no pulling different ways.” “Yes,” said Franklin, “we must all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”
A correspondent recently wrote concerning a certain subject: “The more I think of it the less I think of it,” where the meaning is obvious.
With this figure we combine in our references the figure of
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