What's Hecuba to Him?

Dear Mr Gilleland,

I do not know whether you are still interested in asyndetic privative adjectives, but I came across a few further examples:

Soph. Oed. Col. vs 1222

Eur Troades vs. 1186

Eur Helena, vs 1148

In her edition of Eur Hecuba, Justina Gregory says (p. 46): "strings of alpha-privative adjectives in asyndeton are a feature of both epic and tragedy", referring to verses 30, 416, 669, 691, 714. This makes the Hecuba a real Fundgrube.

But perhaps you are already familiar with many of these. Just a token of admiration for your blog!

Best wishes
Hans van der Hoeven
(A Sciolist)

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Thanks very much for the examples and the kind words — I am indeed still interested in this topic. Four of these examples had escaped my attention, all from Euripides' Hecuba:

• 30 unwept, unburied (ἄκλαυτος ἄταφος)
  
• 416 without bridegroom, without wedding (ἄνυμφος ἀνυμέναιος)
  
• 691 without sigh, without tear (ἀστένακτος ἀδάκρυτος)
  
• 714 unutterable, nameless (ἄρρητ' ἀνωνόμαστα)

In my own recent reading, I found a couple of English examples.

Arthur Hugh Clough, ἐπὶ Λάτμῳ:

As a lake its mirrored mountains
At a moment, unregretting,
Unresisting, unreclaiming,
Without preface, without question,
On the silent shifting levels
Lets depart,
Shows, effaces and replaces!

J.R.R. Tolkien, Lord of the Rings, III/6:

Unmarred, unstained is leaf and land
In Dwimordene, in Lórien
More fair than thoughts of Mortal Men.