Illeism
Typing Quirk | |
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Information | |
| Alternate Names: | Third Person Quirk, Speaking in the third person |
| First Recorded: | 370 BC |
| Origin: | Real life |
| Categories: | Grammar |
Illeism is the act of referring to oneself in the third person instead of first person. It is sometimes used in literature as a stylistic device. In real-life usage, illeism can reflect a number of different stylistic intentions or involuntary circumstances, some of which can be considered a typing quirk.
Table of Contents
Usage
Regular text:
With this quirk:
For example:
Literature
Early literature such as Julius Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico or Xenophon's Anabasis, both ostensibly non-fictional accounts of wars led by their authors, used illeism to impart an air of objective impartiality, which included justifications of the author's actions. In this way personal bias is presented, albeit dishonestly, as objectivity.
In an essay, theologian Richard B. Hays challenged earlier findings that he disagrees with: "These were the findings of one Richard B. Hays, and the newer essay treats the earlier work and earlier author at arms' length."
Fiction
- Major Bagstock - The apoplectic retired Indian army officer in Charles Dickens' Dombey and Son (1848), refers to himself solely as Joseph, Old Joe, Joey B, Bagstock, Josh, J.B., Anthony Bagstock, and other variants of his own name.
- Gollum - in The Lord of the Rings (1954–55) spoke in an idiosyncratic manner, often referring to himself in the third person, and frequently talked to himself—"through having no one else to speak to", as Tolkien put it in The Hobbit.[x]
- Herbert Stencil - A major character within Thomas Pynchon's novel V. refers to himself as Stencil and speaks in the third person[x]
- Mantis - Almost always refers to herself as "Mantis", "she", and "this one"; this has to do with her upbringing at the Temple of the Priests of Pama, an alien pacifistic sect heavily inspired by real-life Eastern religious movements.[x]
- Numbuh 5 - From the Cartoon Network animated series Codename: Kids Next Door (2002–08).[x]
- Ice Bear - From the animated series We Bare Bears (2015–20).[x]
Real Life
While not common, there are several examples of real life people who have been known to speak in third person, offline:
- Rickey Henderson - American professional baseball left fielder. "Often he would refer to himself in the third person: “People are always saying, ‘Rickey says Rickey’. But it’s been blown way out of proportion. People might catch me, when they know I’m ticked off, saying ‘Rickey, what the heck are you doing, Rickey?’ They say, ‘Darn Rickey, what are you saying Rickey for? Why don’t you just say I?’ But I never did. I always said ‘Rickey’ and it became something for people to joke about.”"[x]
Notes
Reception
In many pieces of media, illeism may also be used to show "low intelligence" or innocent simplicity, as with the character Mongo in Blazing Saddles, e.g. "Mongo like candy" and "Mongo only pawn in game of life". The childlike Sesame Street Muppet character Elmo almost exclusively speaks in the third person. There is no data available on if this perception exends to real life.
Related Pages
Outbound Links
- Illeism on Wikipedia
- Category:Illeists on Wikipedia