It’s a Mini Mystery, This Odd Writing Device
Prolepsis can seem confusing, but it’s an intriguing way to begin a story
They are odd things, those brief omissions.
The inscrutable prolepsis is an excellent rhetorical device when used as an introduction.
They just can’t agree on what it's called, those lexicographers. Definitions flit between anachronism, anticipation, chronological error, solecism, and paraleipsis (paralipsis or paralepsis)
Merriam-Webster defines prolepsis as: (noun) the application of an adjective to a noun in anticipation of the result of the action of the verb.
I know, I needed an example, too.
I’ve used it in my title, in the first line of this story and to introduce the premise that lexicographers can’t agree on very much.
Like a pulp thriller writer, I’ve been overly ambitious in my use of prolepsis in this article already. I’ve outdone its welcome.
Thus, it comes with a caveat. It’s okay to use it in your speech — we use it naturally in conversation — but it takes a little thought to get it right in your writing.
Be sparing.
The curious thing about prolepsis
In his book, 100 Ways to Improve Your Writing, Gary Provost gives five ways to write a strong beginning:
- Find a slant
- Write a strong lead
- Don’t make promises you can’t keep
- Set a tone and maintain it
- Begin at the beginning
Prolepsis can embrace all of these because it raises a question in the mind of the reader.
Think of it as the introduction of an event to the reader before it has happened — you give your audience a brief foresight. The author has experienced (or thought of) the event, so we get her hindsight.
The finest example comes from the poet Philip Larkin:
“They fuck you up, your mum and dad. They may not mean to, but they do. They fill you with the faults they had And add some extra, just for you.”
It’s there in the first line, that’s prolepsis in prose. Imagine if he hadn’t used prolepsis, the line would be:
Your mum and dad fuck you up.
Then you’d have an entirely different poem:
“Your mum and dad fuck you up. Whether they mean it or not All their faults, they make you sup When they spank you on the bot.”
— Malky McEwan
(Yeah, I know. I’m more of a limerick kinda guy.)
Filmmakers are adept at using prolepsis.
We are all aware of the use of flashbacks — where the narration goes into the past to relate events that have already occurred. That’s known as analepsis.
Prolepsis is a ‘flash-forward’ — where the narration jumps to the future in order to describe events yet to happen.
In “The Godfather” by Mario Puzo, the narrative jumps back and forth. It propels us back in time to see how Vito Corleone rose to power and forward to see how his sons continue the Mafia boss’s legacy.
In conversation
We use prolepsis to emphasise the point we are about to make.
- I’m not going to mention my opponent’s shady business dealings, because I’m sure you’re all aware of them already.
In addition, the word can refer to the anticipation of objections, a tactic aimed at weakening their impact.
- I know some of you may say that this plan is too expensive, but let me explain how the benefits outweigh the costs.
- Now, before you object, let me clarify a few things.
In writing
The Britannica describes prolepsis as a figure of speech in which they represent a future act or development as if already accomplished or existing.
Britannica provides an example from John Keats’s “Isabella” :
“So the two brothers and their murdered man Rode past fair Florence.”
Here, two men anticipate the assassination of a living character. Keats cleverly disturbs the chronological order of the story by narrating the future event out of turn. We now anticipate the murder.
But we are bloggers and storytellers.
We want to keep our audience on our side. We want their attention. They want something quick and easy. This is where prolepsis can help. And it is easy to use — take my headline:
It’s a Mini Mystery, This Odd Writing Device
— it would have been less effective if I had used:
This Odd Writing Device Is a Mini Mystery
The former is more nuanced, the added complexity is more appealing to the eye and the ear — try reading them out loud.
Even headline analysers can tell the difference.
I put both of the above headlines through five different headline analysers and all scored higher for the one using prolepsis, which is remarkably clever of them considering it’s the same words in a different order.
When you begin with an enigma, your reader's brain automatically raises questions: ‘Who? What? Why are you telling me this?’
The important point is it is momentary. In writing, we must explain it immediately.
If you prolong telling the reader, you risk losing their interest. To be effective, make the revelation directly after the question you raise.
That way, prolepsis can be almost as powerful as anaphora.
