Surely you’ve heard the exclamation «Oh my God!» brought. You were either surprised or annoyed at that moment. Did you know that the expression is a stylistic device? Because God himself was hardly present at that moment. This is called an «apostrophe».
Apostrophes – definition
The apostrophe is a rhetorical devicewhich is characterized by that a character is addressing a person or object that isn’t actually there. So the object can be imaginary, absent or inanimate. If there is an apostrophe, the speech situation changes by a new addressee come in addition.
The name «apostrophe» comes from late Latin apostropha and the Greek apostrophe and can as «departure» or «aversion» to be translated, which should reflect the meaning of the stylistic device.
Apostrophes usually come in the form of a rhetorical questionan exclamation (exclamation) or an interjection (interjection) before.
Apostrophes – examples
Apostrophes are most common in poetry and drama. If the speech situation is changed by the apostrophes, the actual conversation partner (e.g. the audience) moves into the background and observes the conversation between the character and the new (imaginary) party. This can take various forms, which are listed below.
Absent Instance (Personified)
don’t be presumptuous Deathalthough one you
mighty, dreadful: you are not that! (John Donne: Sonnet on Death)
In this example, it becomes clear that the character is not addressing the audience, but the personified death turns. Death is an absent, abstract instance/idea that is addressed. The poet/protagonist can thus express his thoughts and emotions directly.
Oh Romeo, Romeo, why aren’t you Romeo? Deny your father and forsake your name, or if you don’t want to, just swear your love to me, and I won’t be a Capulet anymore. (Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet)
In the second example from the second act of Shakespeare’s tragedy Romeo and Juliet, Romeo is approached by Juliet, although Juliet is unaware at the time that Romeo is nearby. So she addresses him and shares her thoughts while assuming he is not present.
Absent High Authority (God)
Characters can also turn to higher authorities such as a god and speak to them directly. Here, too, the actual audience/readership recedes into the background.
I don’t know anything poorer
Under the sun as you gods! (Goethe: Prometheus)
In this example, Prometheus addresses all the gods to reproach and disbelieve them. By speaking directly, he also communicates his thoughts in a direct manner.
Apostrophes can also be found in everyday life, where higher authorities are usually addressed. For example: «Jesus, Mary and Joseph» or «Oh my God».
Direct address (of the audience)
However, the apostrophe can also be used in such a way that the character or authorial narrator is addressing the audience/readership. The readership is thus initiated into the conversation partner and into the thoughts.
you guess, that only very personal relationships, deeply penetrating my life, can give meaning to this incident. (ETA Hoffmann: The Sandman)
The writer turns here active at the Lesend by including him in his narrative includes. The readership is not present in the author’s writing situation, i.e. in the reality of the narrator.
For the existence of an apostrophe, it is fundamentally irrelevant whether the addressed object or character is either momentarily absent, imaginary or just non-existent in the reality of the narrator.
effect of apostrophes
The apostrophe helps strong emotions to be expressed by directing the relevant thoughts of the narrator/literary character directly to the object in question. This enables the author to deep insight into the mind of the character/narrator. This can be for a emotional the atmosphere worry about the audience’s perception influence and intensify can. A text can always be enlivened by using apostrophes.