on hendiadys

4 minute read Published: 11 Jul, 2021

1 + 1 ≠ 2, existential me circa 1600

Table of Contents

tl;dr I bet you have no idea what this is. You’ve definitely seen one before… but you just didn’t know it. Boo!

To help you understand, if these tail a structure in a sentence then it:
;) ---> is, or could be formed as, a hendiadys.
:'( --> could be confused as a possible hendiadys.

However, if you were aware of the hendiadys, then go you! I’m impressed. I’ll admit that I wasn’t aware of this technique until a a couple of years ago when I was reading On Grand Strategy by John Lewis Gaddis. Gaddis covers humanity’s great leaders ;) – from anitquity to modernity, in chronological order, where each chapter is devoted to one leader and their strategies ;). In the chapter on Queen Elizabeth, in many of her political letters, particularly those to King Philip of Spain, her hendiadys empowered her – a virgin queen who may both save her country and leave a legacy – and “positioned a culture against paralysis in world that was to come.” As noted in this chapter, other masters of hendiadys include Cranmer and Shakespeare.

“Hendiadys” translates literally as “one through two” which is easy to explain but conceals the subliminal gestalt – greater than the sum of its parts. In simpler words, it is the expression of two words, such as but not limited to an adjective and its noun, :’( separated by a conjunction; instead of the former only modifying the latter, they stand alone but also together, augmenting each other. One of the most classic examples is “nice and warm” ;) in lieu of “nicely warm.” The two words are separate but each contributes to the other’s meaning in context, with a cup of morning coffee for example. For me at least, the latter phrasing is far less effective than the hendiadys. If you say the two versions aloud, you may notice as well that it’s much easier to add more dramatic inflection to the hendiadys.

In poetry, these devices are incredibly powerful, adding emphasis and rhythm :’( [but maybe ;) in the right context??]. However, they trade conciseness for that effect. To a lot of people, including myself, sacrificing conciseness is risky business, especially in poetry that is necessarily brief. Many haikuists would likely advise against such a structure. Nonetheless, when it works, hendiadys’ effect is devastating and beautiful ;) at least in my opinion and I use it in haiku when I feel like it.

In popular literature, rife usage of hendiadys occurs in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Paging through it, I spotted one used by Horatio early in Act I, maybe you can find an even earlier one, or a better one. If you’ve heard of hendiadys before, then you probably heard about it when you read this play in your high school English class. Lucky you; I wish hendiadys were discussed when my class read Hamlet some odd 5 years ago.

A related device is the hendiatris, which, you guessed it, unites three words, not necessarily with a conjunction. Hendiatris are much more popular and renowned than hendiadys because they work better as catchy slogans. For example:

“Reduce, reuse, recycle”

It all builds up to recycle because, by recycling, you typically are reducing and reusing… unless you’re drinking a ton of LaCroix.

“Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

For you to explain to yourself; don’t @ me with an unproductive philosophical debate.

“Passion, courage of conviction, and a strong sense of self,” Elle Woods, Legally Blonde

What does this even mean? The movie is iconic and in my opinion you cannot have one of these ideas without the others.

“Look on my Works, ye Mighty, and despair!” Percy Bysshe Shelley, Ozymandias

If you haven’t read this brief poem, do that right the hell now. When you read this line, “my Works” and “ye Mighty” likely mean the same thing with an epic effect, then to round it off you read “despair.” At first glance, “despair” is a verb – a command to the reader to know their place. However, how do you know? “Despair” could also be a noun to imply that Ozymandias’ mighty works are despair embodied.

Ozymandias is one of my all-time favorites and that line in particular is possibly my favorite line in poetry, despite its not being a hendiadys.

In my opinion, crafting a good hendiadys is just as tricky, and just as impressive, as crafting a good hendiatris because saying so much more with less speaks to me more. This laconic gravity in hendiadys is what draws me to haiku & senryu in the first place because they give the reader room to interpret all of the opened space.