What is Metanoia in Literature?

Metanoia, or "self-correction," is when a speaker or writer deliberately changes a statement they just made. People usually do this in an attempt to strengthen or soften what they've said in some way. "Epanorthosis" is an alternate term for metanoia.

There's a common misconception here that you need to avoid. This technique involves rectifying a statement that was made a few seconds ago at most. Going back and correcting something mentioned much earlier or a piece of writing produced ages ago isn't an example of this rhetoric device.

Consider this scenario. A newspaper publishes a statement that acknowledges their mistake about an inaccurate story printed in the past. This is simply a correction, not a case of metanoia. In addition, this technique is not used just add an extra statement. Sentences that include words like "moreover" or "however" don't fall under this category because they're simply additions to the previously written line. They're usually not meant to rectify anything, just talk about something extra.

The Importance of this Device

Metanoia appears to be a strange approach at first, especially in literature. The question arises, isn't it better to just mention something accurately the first time? After all, the writer would have thought long and hard before penning every word. Hence, what's the point of stating something one way and then immediately correcting it in the next line?

One explanation is that metanoia imitates how people communicate in real life. Most everyday conversations involve multiple instances of people correcting themselves and revising their statements as they talk. So, using this strategy can give your writing a more conversational tone.

Moreover, you can use this technique to make it easy for the readers to understand your point. To that end, writers usually create a general phrase before clarifying it a bit for greater accuracy. Thus, you can think of metanoia as a "funnel" that leads the reader from a broader and easily understandable sentence towards a more precise one. However, this precise statement might be more difficult to grasp for the average reader.

Lastly, authors use this technique to highlight how strong a particular statement is. Take a look at the example below.

"I've got my drawbacks, due to my own culpability and because of my failure to acknowledge the reprimands of the gods - and if I might mention it, their direct commands."

These words from Stoic philosopher and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius are from his book Meditations. Over here, Aurelius starts with a weaker sentence before going on to add some strength in the ensuing lines. The dialogue becomes stronger as it goes along and the statement concludes with as much strength as possible. It works like a ramp where the reader is gradually but skillfully led to the striking phenomenon, which, in this case, is the author's disregard for the gods and their orders.

Types of Metanoia

Depending upon function, it has three unique categories.

Softening a Statement

In this kind of metanoia, the second sentence is a gentler or softer variation of the first.

Making a Statement Stronger

This kind of metanoia occurs when the second statement is relatively stronger. It can also be a more direct form of the first sentence. "Amplification" is another word used for this technique.

Adding More Precision to a Statement

In this metanoia category, the second phrase is used to add more specificity, clarity, and accuracy to the first one.

Conclusion

This is a handy technique in literature when used in the correct manner. On the other hand, faulty or incorrect usage can significantly reduce the quality of a literary piece of work.