Nine Rhetorical Devices - (8) Asyndeton

Via @culturaltutor and Wikipedia.

Asyndeton (UK: /æˈsɪndɪtən, ə-/, US: /əˈsɪndətɒn, ˌeɪ-/; from the Greek: ἀσύνδετον, "unconnected", sometimes called asyndetism) is a literary scheme in which one or several conjunctions are deliberately omitted from a series of related clauses. Examples include veni, vidi, vici and its English translation "I came, I saw, I conquered". Its use can have the effect of speeding up the rhythm of a passage and making a single idea more memorable. Asyndeton may be contrasted with syndeton (syndetic coordination) and polysyndeton, which describe the use of one or multiple coordinating conjunctions, respectively.

More generally, in grammar, an asyndetic coordination is a type of coordination in which no coordinating conjunction is present between the conjuncts.

Quickly, resolutely, he strode into the bank.

No coordinator is present here, but the conjoins are still coordinated.

Example:

I came, I saw, I conquered.

  - Julius Caesar

Further examples:

Thus strings of unconnected words, and constant repetitions of words and phrases, are very properly condemned in written speeches: but not in spoken speeches — speakers use them freely, for they have a dramatic effect. In this repetition there must be variety of tone, paving the way, as it were, to dramatic effect; e.g., 'This is the villain among you who deceived you, who cheated you, who meant to betray you completely'

  - Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book III, Chapter 12 (trans. W. Rhys Roberts).

For the conclusion, the disconnected style of language is appropriate, and will mark the difference between the oration and the peroration. 'I have done. You have heard me. The facts are before you. I ask for your judgement'.

  - Aristotle, Rhetoric, Book III, Chapter 19 (trans. W. Rhys Roberts).

...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.

  - Abraham Lincoln, Gettysburg Address

...that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty.

  - John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, 20 January 1961.