Amphibology
Amphibology or amphiboly (from the Greek ampibolia) is, in logic, a verbal fallacy arising from ambiguity in the grammatical structure of a sentence. <
For example:
- Teenagers shouldn't be allowed to drive, it's getting too dangerous on the streets.
From the above could be interpreted that teenagers shouldn't go outside because they will be in danger, or that they shouldn't go outside as they are causing all the danger.
It occurs frequently in poetry, owing to the alteration for metrical reasons of the natural order of words; for example, Shakespeare, Henry VI:
- The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose.
