Does this literary device/technique have a name? (beehaw.org)

submitted 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) by EponymousBosh@beehaw.org to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

8 comments fedilink hide all child comments

So John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats does this thing in some of his lyrics where he'll start a sentence out with a verb as though it's an imperative, but it's from a first-person POV. There's a lot of examples but the song "Counterfeit Florida Plates" is the one that comes to mind first, for me. Is there a technical term for what he's doing here?

EDIT: changed wording to be less ambiguous

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[-] EponymousBosh@beehaw.org 6 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Not exactly, but I don't blame you for being confused. I didn't realize my own wording was ambiguous! "Counterfeit Florida Plates" is the name of the song where the type of lyrics I'm referring to are used. An example:

Steal some sunscreen/From the CVS/Use too much/And make a great big mess/Wait where shadows/Mask or hide my scent

Normally a sentence starting with a verb like that is an imperative or a command, with "you" being the understood subject. But here, the narrator is talking about himself in first person ("mask or hide my scent"). So I was wondering if that usage had a name.

[-] Nemo@midwest.social 12 points 10 months ago

He's dropping the I, eg.

I steal some sunscreen

I use too much

I wait

[-] dfyx@lemmy.helios42.de 4 points 10 months ago

As you’re specifically asking for a name: it’s a form of ellipsis, specifically one in which the sentences‘ subject is dropped.

[-] neptune@dmv.social 1 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Thanks for not blaming me.

According to Google, a garden path sentence is one that misleads or tricks. Part of speech doesn't seem to be a definitional feature. Unless someone comes up with a better answer, I think I might be right.

this post was submitted on 17 Jan 2024

24 points (90.0% liked)

Asklemmy

43905 readers

1158 users here now

A loosely moderated place to ask open-ended questions

Search asklemmy 🔍

If your post meets the following criteria, it's welcome here!

Open-ended question
Not offensive: at this point, we do not have the bandwidth to moderate overtly political discussions. Assume best intent and be excellent to each other.
Not regarding using or support for Lemmy: context, see the list of support communities and tools for finding communities below
Not ad nauseam inducing: please make sure it is a question that would be new to most members
An actual topic of discussion

Looking for support?

Looking for a community?

Lemmyverse: community search
sub.rehab: maps old subreddits to fediverse options, marks official as such
!lemmy411@lemmy.ca: a community for finding communities

~Icon~ ~by~ ~@Double_A@discuss.tchncs.de~

founded 5 years ago

MODERATORS