How we change what others think, feel, believe and do

Anamnesis

Techniques > Use of language > Figures of speech > Anamnesis

Method | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Anamnesis is the expression of (often negative) emotions by way of recall from memory.

Example

He was a much loved fellow. Those that knew him remember his laugh, his sense of fun. And now he is gone, taken away, forever from us.

You know, I knew a chap like Simon once. Very annoying, he was.

The last time I met Susan we had a lot of fun. Here she comes now...

Discussion

It is often impolite to express emotion directly, particularly in some cultural contexts. Using recall lets you take an ostensibly neutral stance in the present whilst talking about the emotions you have felt in the past, typically in a similar situation to that which you are experiencing or considering.

In prose or poetry, this may be used in the form of an elegy, dirge, lament or other sorrowful recall, deliberately intended to evoke a sympathetic response.

Classification: Emotion