User:John.M.Rudy/"Trip-hammer"

A "Trip-Hammer" refers to the rhetorical tool of combining items in lists of three for better effect. The evidence for the effectiveness of this technique is somewhat anecdotal, deriving its power from western culture's tendency to group important items into threes.

Groupings of Threes in Culture
"I have said it twice:...That alone should encourage the crew.... I have said it thrice: What I tell you three times is true." -Lewis Carroll

Culturally, groupings of three appear in many facets of western culture. Three items or thoughts, and the use of multiples of three, pervade every facet of life.

Religion

 * The most obvious religious use of the grouping of three is the Trinity, a grouping utilized in many sects of Christianity. Traditionally, this grouping consists of God, Jesus and the Holy Ghost/Spirit.  Christianity also exhibits smaller details of its structure grouped into sets of three.  Jesus' ministry, as portrayed in the Bible, lasts 3 years, with his death coming in his 33rd year of age.  Christ rises from the dead on the third day after his death.  Christ predicts that Peter would deny him three times.  The number of apostles (12).


 * In Muslim devotional rites, certain formulas are repeated three times, and others thirty-three times. A devout Muslim tries to make a pilgrimage to all three holy cities in Islam: Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.


 * Judaism's tenants also revolve heavily around the groupings of three. The three Biblical Patriachs in Judaic tradition: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  King Solomon, in Ecclesiastes 4:12, observes that "A three-ply cord is not easily severed."
 * Other Judaic Precepts:
 * "On three things the world stands: On Torah, on prayer, and on acts of kindness" Pirkei Avoth 1:2
 * "The world continues to exist because of three things: justice, truth, and peace" Pirkei Avoth 1:18


 * Less traditional religions also exhibit this idea of grouping items in threes. In Wicca, the Rule of Three states that whatever you do in the world will come back to you threefold.  Alastair Crowley's model of the three schools of magick, outlined in /Magick Without Tears/, number three: Black, White and Yellow.

Historical and Literary Triplets

 * Columbus' Three Ships: Nina, Pinta and Santa Maria.
 * Three precepts of the French Revolution: Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité.
 * Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address Triplet: "Of the People, By the People, for the People."
 * Dante's Divine Comedy has three main parts each of thirty-three cantos. It was written in terza rima, a combination of tercets.
 * Mark Twain: "Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: 'There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics.'"
 * The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas, although technically about four of the titular characters, capitalizes upon the tetrology and itself is part of a trilogy.

Sports

 * In bowling, three strikes in a row is called a turkey.
 * In cricket, three outs in a row is called a hat trick. In ice hockey and football (soccer), the same term is applied to sets of three goals.
 * In ice hockey, a game consists of 3 periods of twenty minutes each.
 * Allen Merriam, Professor of Communications at Missouri Southern State College, writes that, "speaking in threes derives subtle reinforcement from cul­tural institutions, notably baseball. A sport whose terminology permeates American speech, the national pastime is built on threes: three strikes, three outs, three bases (plus home), three fields (left, center, right), nine players, nine innings, etc."

Uses in Interpretation
The "Trip-hammer" set of three can be used to convey importance or weight of meaning. On the small scale, this technique may be used to combine three adjectives or nouns which highlight a specific site's significance. This can be particularly useful in the conclusion of a program, when thinking about the call to action. "I hope you can see from our discussions today why this site is culturally, historically and environmentally significant..."

But on the grand organizational level of an interpretive product, it is important to keep the idea of the "trip-hammer" in mind. Generally, the traditional 5-paragraph essay you might have been taught to write in elementary school is a great organizational method for interpretation. This calls for three main points, or themes, to be focused upon, one per paragraph.

Links and Resources
This area is for linking to other resources that may be related to this article.

Documentation

 * This can include links to outside sites, such as individual programs in parks or interpretive sites that seem to be examples of the concept discussed in the article. They may also include documents held in the wiki, such as articles in Meaningful Interpretation and other static pieces from the wiki library.


 * External Links may be made to pages outside of the wiki by including single-bracketed text where the web address comes first, followed by a space and then the text you wish to appear as the link.


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Interpretive Examples

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