Definition

1. Noun:
   • A rhetorical or grammatical figure of speech involving the substitution of one grammatical form for another, such as a different part of speech, gender, number, or tense. This substitution is often used for stylistic effect or emphasis, rather than being a grammatical error.

Usage

• Enallage is a specialized term used primarily in the fields of rhetoric, grammar, and literary analysis. It describes an intentional and effective grammatical irregularity.
• It is used to identify and analyze a specific stylistic choice in speech or writing.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The editorial use of "we" for "I" is a classic example of enallage.
  • In the line "The boy stood on the burning deck, / Whence all but he had fled," the use of "he" instead of "him" is considered an enallage.
  • Shakespeare's use of "is" for "are" in "The quality of mercy is not strained" can be analyzed as a form of enallage.

Advanced Usage

• Enallage of Number: Substituting a singular noun for a plural, or vice versa.
  • "The committee have decided..." (using a plural verb with a singular collective noun for emphasis on the individual members).
• Enallage of Tense: Using one verb tense where another is grammatically expected.
  • In historical present narration: "So I walk into the room and see him there."
• Enallage of Person: Shifting grammatical person, such as the editorial 'we'.
  • A writer states, "We shall now examine the causes," when referring to their own work.

Variants and Related Words

• Hypallage (n): A related but distinct figure of speech involving the interchange of two elements in a phrase or sentence (e.g., "a sleepless night" instead of "a night of sleeplessness").
• Syllepsis (n): A figure of speech where a word governs two or more other words but agrees in number, gender, or case with only one (e.g., "He lost his coat and his temper").

Synonyms

• Grammatical substitution: A more general, descriptive term.
• Rhetorical figure: A broader category to which enallage belongs.
• Intentional grammatical error: A descriptive phrase highlighting its deliberate nature.

Related Phrases/Idioms

• Poetic license: This is not a direct synonym but is a related concept. Poetic license is the broader freedom to deviate from conventional rules (of grammar, form, fact) for artistic effect, under which the use of enallage often falls.
  • The poet used enallage, exercising poetic license to create a more rhythmic line.

Noun

1. a substitution of part of speech or gender or number or tense etc. (e.g., editorial `we' for `I')