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Antanaclasis

Device
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

A rhetorical device where a word is repeated with a shift in meaning, often for punning or ironic effect.

Detailed Definition
Antanaclasis is a rhetorical device where a word is repeated in successive clauses but with different meanings each time, creating punning or ironic effects; famously used by Benjamin Franklin (“If we don’t hang together, we shall surely hang separately”), it exploits semantic ambiguity for wit or emphasis.
Example
Example in poetry:
Shakespeare’s Hamlet: “To be, or not to be—that is the question” uses Antanaclasis by shifting “be” from existence to action; Benjamin Franklin: “Your argument is sound, nothing but sound” plays on “sound” as both logical and empty; modern example: “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana” (though more pun than Antanaclasis); Antanaclasis appears in political slogans (“Make America great again” vs. “Make America think again”); the device highlights semantic flexibility through repetition
Additional Notes
Repetition of word with different meaning each use. Distinct from simple repetition. Creates wordplay and semantic richness. Shakespeare frequently employs this. Challenges reader to track shifting connotations.
Other Meanings of “Antanaclasis”
Also Known As
Word repetition Repeated word different meaning Identical-word play semantic repetition Traductio
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