Answer – The quote “I came, I saw, I conquered” from Julius Caesar is an example of asyndeton.
Explanation:
Asyndeton is a literary device used to create emphasis with the removal of conjunctions from places where they would otherwise be used. It adds dynamism to the sentence, and delivers its message in a sharp and pithy manner.
One of the most famous examples of asyndeton is Julius Caesar’s “Veni, vidi, vici” translated as “I came, I saw, I conquered”. If written with the conjunction ‘and’, the sentence would have been, “I came, I saw and I conquered”. The latter sentence clearly does not have the impact of the former.
Other examples of asyndeton are as follows:
We saw no houses, no smoke, no footprints, no boats, no people. (“Lord of the Flies” by William Golding)
My friend is dead, my neighbor is dead, my love, the darling of my soul, is dead. (“A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens)Without looking, without making a sound, without talking. (“Oedipus at Colonus” by Sophocles)
