This is a difficult concept in the treatise, as <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/on-the-sublime/key-figures/#199282">Longinus</a> uses but never clearly defines it. He begins by criticizing the common definition of the term (“a manner of expression which enhances the subject” [20]) as too broad and says that amplification involves such devices as “pauses,” “fresh starts,” and “increasing the effect at every step” (19). Amplification refers to a variety of elements in writing, including “the development of commonplaces, emotional intensification, emphasis on facts” (19), and other features. Amplification is an element of greatness but does not in itself constitute great writing; indeed, when wrongly handled it can become “slack and hollow” (19). Longinus’s discussion of amplification is interrupted by a lacuna on page 20, and when the text resumes, he has moved on to a different topic (19-20).

Amplification

From the Greek for “not linked,” this literary device leaves out connective words (like “and”), creating an urgent, breathless, passionate effect (31-33).

Asyndeton

Discussed at length on <a data-internal-link data-link-type="Character" href="https://www.supersummary.com/on-the-sublime/key-figures/#199282">Longinus</a> defines frigidity as using language or expressions that are unworthy of the thought being expressed. He calls it the opposite fault to puerility (7-8).

Frigidity

Greatness (the Sublime)

High-mindedness

Hyperbaton

Parenthyrsos

Periphrasis

Puerility

Turgidity

Historic & Literary Period

Ancient Greece

Values & Ideas

Beauty

Humanities

Books About Art

Books & Literature

Literary Area of Study

Italian Studies

Philosophy, Logic, & Ethics

Longinus

Adult

Book

Nonfiction

Guide

Study Guide

Book Brief

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About On the Sublime

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Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-5

On the Sublime Chapters 1-5 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 6-10

On the Sublime Chapters 6-10 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 11-15

On the Sublime Chapters 11-15 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 16-29

On the Sublime Chapters 16-29 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 30-38

On the Sublime Chapters 30-38 Summary & Analysis

Chapters 39-44

On the Sublime Chapters 39-44 Summary & Analysis

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Key Figures

On the Sublime Key Figures

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Themes

On the Sublime Themes

Index of Terms

On the Sublime Index of Terms

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Important Quotes

On the Sublime Important Quotes with Page Numbers

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Essay Topics

On the Sublime Essay Topics

On the Sublime

Index of Terms

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