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This is an example of "procatalepsis" or "prolepsis" [1], a rhetorical device that is often used to try to defuse criticism. Authors often use this to try to sl
by mcone 11y ago
This is an example of "procatalepsis" or "prolepsis" [1], a rhetorical device that is often used to try to defuse criticism. Authors often use this to try to slip something controversial by their readers [2].
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procatalepsis https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Procatalepsis
[2] http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr/07/politics-and-prolepsis-im-not-a-rhetorician-but- http://www.theguardian.com/media/mind-your-language/2015/apr...
- JadeNB 11y agoIt's interesting; I hadn't known the word 'prolepsis' but recently encountered it in another context, in which it was defined quite differently as "the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prolepsis). Is one of these references in error, or is the same word used to describe two very different rhetorical devices?