Tactical Purpose:
In literature, parenthetical elements are a common tool that is used in fiction and non-fiction alike. An author would use this device to make a sentence more artistic or use fancier vocabulary to enhance the information. Parenthetical elements is a very general term but refers to anything that doesn’t directly add to the details of the thought or piece of writing, but makes the reader more enticed to keep reading.
Steps for Analysis:
The first step to analyzing this term is finding it within the sentence or piece of writing; it usually can be found if you think about the part of the sentence that isn’t necessary to the primary information.
Also, it could be separated with commas or dashes to isolate unneeded information in a sentence
The second step is finding the importance of the elements in the sentence and the effect it’s relationship has on the information provided.
Always try to examine the information further (if possible); think about potential bias, purpose, and the reliability of the author or information generally.
Example from We Shall Fight on Beachs by Winston Churchill:
The enemy attacked on all sides with great strength and fierceness, and their main power, the power of their far more numerous Air Force, was thrown into the battle or else concentrated upon Dunkirk and the beaches. Pressing in upon the narrow exit, both from the east and from the west, the enemy began to fire with cannon upon the beaches by which alone the shipping could approach or depart. They sowed magnetic mines in the channels and seas; they sent repeated waves of hostile aircraft, sometimes more than a hundred strong in one formation, to cast their bombs upon the single pier that remained, and upon the sand dunes upon which the troops had their eyes for shelter.
Analysis of Passage:
The main purpose of parenthetical elements is to provide additional, but sometimes unneeded, information in a sentence or piece of writing. In this Winston Churchill speech, he addresses the House of Commons about a battle in WWII, one called “Operation Dynamo”. In this excerpt, commas can separate specific parenthetical elements like “both from the east and from the west” and “sometimes more than a hundred strong in one formation” to give more context for the sentence, but also separation words like “upon” can separate a parenthetical element from the main point of the sentence.
Specifically in this speech, the parenthetical elements are used to exemplify the fact that the enemy is ruthless and merciless. The French and British troops were completely outnumbered and Churchhill’s point in this segment was to demonstrate and emphasize this. In the sentence with “sometimes more than a hundred strong in one formation”, the extreme contrast between the number, 100 german planes in the air and a singular pier, shows how Churchill talks up the troops’ courage. The pier is a symbol for the troops, it may seem insignificant or outmatched and outnumbered, but they were still standing at the end and their heroics are still remembered.