What Is An Anachronism? 3 Uses of Anachronism

An anachronism is a literary device that places someone or something associated with a particular historical time in the wrong time period. Anachronism comes from the Greek words “chronos” or “khronos” meaning “time” and the prefix “ana-” meaning “back” or “again.”

Imagine reading a story about a caveman who microwaves his dinner or watching a film adaptation of a Jane Austen novel in which the characters text each other instead of writing letters. These out-of-place circumstances are examples of anachronisms. Sometimes anachronisms are actual blunders; other times, they intentionally add humor or comment on a specific historical period.

There are three different types of anachronisms; each serves a different purpose.

1. 1. Behavioral or cultural anachronism: Bringing archaic objects or ideas into the modern-day as an aesthetic choice. For example, a person carrying a conversation in Latin in the twenty-first century.
2. 2. Parachronism: A parachronism is anything that appears in the wrong period. This could be an object, a colloquial expression, or a social custom associated with a specific period appearing in the wrong era or outside of its general use—for example, a modern-day person using a washboard to clean clothes instead of a washing machine.
3. 3. Prochronism: Considered an impossible anachronism, this relates to something—an object or concept—used in a literary work or movie long before its invention (like a microwave in the Stone Age).

Two literary terms are closely related to anachronism: juxtaposition and archaism. Similar to anachronism, juxtaposition means placing two things side by side for comparison. Archaism is the use of outmoded language for a stylistic effect.

Anachronisms appear in literature, film, and everyday life. Consider the different usages and examples of anachronism:

1. 1. Add humor: The 2004 movie Napoleon Dynamite took place in 2004, but the characters were dressed in clothing from the eighties. They had VCRs, cordless phones, and danced to eighties music—which all added to the protagonist’s social anxiety and sense of displacement.
2. 2. Break the fourth wall: In the Western satire film Blazing Saddles, set in the year 1874, director Mel Brooks has the characters break through a wall—both real and metaphysical—to reveal a Hollywood production set.
3. 3. Make a statement: For example, a Russian commemorative coin depicting the 1945 meeting of Soviet and American troops at Torgau in Germany depicts a 50-star US flag. However, the US flag only had 48 stars at the time.

Writers or filmmakers can place intentional anachronisms in a story to add humor or juxtapose a work with another period. Unintentional anachronisms, however, are the result of an error. Consider the following:

• Intentional anachronism: Books and films featuring time travel often include intentional anachronisms. Another great example of deliberate anachronism is the 2006 film Marie Antoinette, written and directed by Sofia Coppola. The historical drama is set in the 1700s and chronicles the life of Marie Antoinette. However, Coppola wanted to draw attention to her protagonist’s youth and naivete, so she placed a pair of Converse High Tops in the background of one scene set in Antoinette’s bedroom.
• Unintentional anachronism: By contrast, take the 1989 film Glory, which was set during the American Civil War and features an unintentional anachronism: a soldier wearing a digital wristwatch. Another famous example of unintentional anachronism is in the 1995 film Braveheart, which takes place during the thirteenth century. In the film, actor Mel Gibson wears a Scottish kilt; however, the iconic piece of clothing was not invented until the sixteenth century. Unintentional inaccuracies can ruin the suspension of disbelief for a reader or viewer.

Some classic texts feature anachronisms with unknown intent. Many of Shakespeare’s plays include anachronisms, which may have been clever commentary or mistakes. For example, in the play Julius Caesar, the titular Roman general mentions a clock striking; mechanical, weighted clocks were not yet invented.

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