OCCUPATIO

Occupatio is a rhetorical device in classical and medieval literature whereby the narrator states that he/she will not tell the reader/listener something. This has the effect of shortening the story but there is a false yet skilful usage when the teller says the detail will not be related and then proceeds to give it as in: "I will not describe what they ate at the feast, the plump fowl, the succulent venison, the steaming puddings ...." Whilst the listener is reassured he will not be bored, he is absorbing the full account and the device is important in oral narrative.