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Pleonasm

Rhetorical Devices
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

Pleonasm is the use of more words than necessary to express an idea, often through redundant modifiers or repeated meaning. It may be accidental, but in poetry it can create emphasis, fullness, or a distinctive voice.

Detailed Definition
Pleonasm adds apparently unnecessary words whose meanings overlap, as in “I saw it with my own eyes” or “a dark black night.” Though often treated as a fault in concise prose, it can be purposeful in poetry. The added language may intensify an image, reproduce emotional overflow, establish a spoken or ritual cadence, or emphasize what a speaker cannot bear to leave unstated. Pleonasm can also imitate folk speech, biblical phrasing, or incantation. By making expression seem abundant rather than economical, it may convey wonder, grief, urgency, or deliberate rhetorical excess.
Example
Example in poetry:
“I heard it with my own ears,” adding unnecessary emphasis because hearing already requires ears; “The dark night covered the road,” repeating an idea often implied by night; “Each and every leaf trembled,” using near-duplicate terms for force; “He returned back to the shore,” redundantly repeating the idea of return
Additional Notes
Pleonasm can be an unintentional redundancy, but poets may use it deliberately for emphasis, rhythm, or emotional overflow. Phrases such as “I saw it with my own eyes” intensify an idea by repeating its force.
Other Meanings of “Pleonasm”
Also Known As
Superfluity Verbal Excess Redundant Amplification
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