Apocope (rhetoric)
An apocope ( Greek ἀποκοπή , cut off ',' omission ') is in rhetoric and verse the omission of a sound or a syllable at the end of a word for euphonic or metrical reasons or to improve the rhythm of speech. In German, such an omission very often affects an ending -e, for example in the sentence “I am not being fooled!” As a rhetorical figure , the apocope belongs to the group of metaplasms .
For apokope as part of language change, see Apokope (Linguistics) .
Examples:
"You talk just like Hans Liederlich
The desire any love Blum for themselves,
And dünkelt him it would not honor
and favor, do not pick would be !"
- Johann Wolfgang Goethe : Faust I . 2628-2631
“And the rotten blue halo
Light on our face.
A rat hops on its bare toe,
come on, we won't disturb your hunger. "
- Georg Heym : The Morgue. 1911
literature
- I. Paraíso: apocopes. In: Gert Ueding (Hrsg.): Historical dictionary of rhetoric . Vol. 1. De Gruyter, Berlin 1992, ISBN 3-484-68101-2 , Sp. 795-797.