As apostrophe is a rhetorical stylistic device, which can appear in all literary genres. Aposiopese means the breaking of a sentence before the essential is said. This must be developed by the recipient himself. The stylistic means is therefore a kind of brachyogy as well as a form of the ellipse and serves the dynamization of a dialogue.
Term
The term can be derived from the Greek (ἀποσιωπάω ~ aposiopao) and roughly translate with abort or silence. The translation therefore refers to what is at stake: breaking a sentence [before the most important thing was said]. Let us look at an example.
If I get you in your hands […] The above example is an apostiosis, because the essential part of the sentence is missing, the message remains thus and the pronounced threat is empty. The empty place must be guessed by the recipient (listener, reader) of the statement and be supplemented independently, whereby the content is missing. The theorem is also an ellipse, since it is grammatically incomplete. Let us look at another example.
What! I? I had him -? Among my dogs?
With these little hands I would have him -?
The above example is taken from the drama Penthesilea, a work by Heinrich von Kleists. Here, the colored markers show the posited aposiopeses in the text. These vacancies must be replaced by the recipient. It becomes clear that the apocropolis appears mainly in unauthorized threats. Nevertheless, every sentence which conceals the essentials can be regarded as such.
Come along, you’re certainly also […] This example is not a threat, but merely the aborting of speech. The sentence sounds almost everyday. This fact is also why the aposiopesis is often used in texts in order to make the statement of a figure appear in a manner which is comprehensible in terms of language and life (cf. fig. It is therefore an important stylistic tool for making a dialogue more dynamic, ie more dynamic.
Note: This stylistic figure is a special form of the ellipse and means the deliberate breaking of a sentence in the midst of an utterance or a thought, whereby the essentials are concealed. The speaker is often agitated and angry, which is why the figure serves the passionate expression enhancement.
Further examples of the Aposiopese (clicks on!)
Apotropaic Apostiosis
A special form of the stylist is the apotropaic apostrophe. The term “apotropaic” refers to acts that are supposed to drive out demons or spirits. In the context of the stylistic figure, it means that the name of a god or the like is not used to avert disaster.
To find an example, we can take a look at the popular fantasy romance series Harry Potter. In the work of the English author Joanne K. Rowling, it is Lord Voldemort, who threatens the entire wizarding world. He is the personified disaster and all the figures of the told world are afraid of him.
No one is more cruel than – you know who.
The inhabitants of the magical world are afraid to pronounce the name of the dark magician and avoid speaking to Voldemort. Accordingly, in such a sentence, the essential is omitted, that is, the name of the magician to avert disaster: an apotropaic aposiopesis.
Effect and function of apostiosis
Of course, it is difficult to attribute a unique effect to a stylistic device which is correct in any case. Nevertheless, a style figure has an effect on the reader and has been used for a certain reason. It should, however, be examined whether this is indeed the case.
Overview: Meaning, characteristics and effect of the style figure
Aposiopese is a special form of the ellipse. It describes the fact that a sentence or thought is deliberately aborted by the speaker, whereby the most important, ie the actual statement, is missing. However, this can in any case be supplemented by the recipient. Aposiopes are nevertheless understandable.
It serves the expression of emotions, that is, of emotional excitements, and is characteristic of the angry, seized, angry, or astonishing figurative speech, and serves to increase expression.
It is often intended to make a dialogue more dynamic, ie more energetic and lively. It also breaks through with the rigid form of language, which is why it can have a colloquial effect. However, the apostleses are often characterized by threats.
In the naturalistic drama, the multitude of such phrases are supposed to recall the everyday language, which is very often characterized by sentence breaks as well as sudden expressions. In the storm and the impulse as well as the Expressionism the Aposiopese was often used in connection with the emphase, a stylistic means, the terms determined by the emphasis and the respective context
