What is another word for stichomythia?

Pronunciation: [stˌɪt͡ʃəmˈɪθi͡ə] (IPA)

Stichomythia is a literary device that involves rapid-fire dialogue between two or more characters, with each line typically having no more than one or two syllables. While it is a unique term, there are a few synonyms you can use to describe this technique. One option is "verbal fencing," which calls to mind the battle-like nature of the conversation. Another possibility is "dialogue tennis," conjuring images of back-and-forth volleys between characters. "Interlocutory exchange" is a more academic term that describes the give-and-take nature of the dialogue. Ultimately, no matter what term you use, stichomythia adds excitement and tension to any scene it appears in.

What are the hypernyms for Stichomythia?

A hypernym is a word with a broad meaning that encompasses more specific words called hyponyms.

Usage examples for Stichomythia

277-290. These fourteen lines are an instance of stichomythia, or conversation in alternate lines, which was always popular on the Attic stage.
"Minor Poems by Milton"
John Milton
The dreary tirades of Polyphontes and Merope, and their snip-snap stichomythia, read equally ill in English.
"Matthew Arnold"
George Saintsbury
The play manifests the usual conflict of artificial and natural styles; the elaborate stichomythia and the wailing and cursing queens furnish examples of the common affectations of tragic style; and the rhetorical display appears not infrequently in Richard's speeches.
"Tragedy"
Ashley H. Thorndike

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