Parataxis (from Greek παράταξις “act of placing side by side”, from παρα para “beside” + τάξις táxis “arrangement”) is a literary technique, in writing or speaking, that favors short, simple sentences, without conjunctions or with the use of coordinating, but not with subordinating conjunctions. It contrasts with syntaxis and hypotaxis.
It is also used to describe a technique in poetry in which two images or fragments, usually starkly dissimilar images or fragments, are juxtaposed without a clear connection. Readers are then left to make their own connections implied by the paratactic syntax. Ezra Pound, in his adaptation of Chinese and Japanese poetry, made the stark juxtaposition of images an important part of English-language poetry.
Julius Caesar’s declaration, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” is an example of parataxis.
[Funny Weather — Olivia Laing]
