The form is relatively common in Latin Christian poetry and prose in a construction called the superlative genitive, in phrases such as sanctum sanctorum ("holy of holies"), and found its way into languages such as Old English, which naturally preferred the prevalent alliteration that is part and parcel of polyptoton—in fact, polyptoton is "much more prevalent in Old English verse than in Latin verse."
The specific superlative genitive in Old English, however, occurs only in Latinate Christian poems, not in secular poetry.
[4] G. K. Chesterton frequently employed this device to create paradox: It is the same with all the powerful of to-day; it is the same, for instance, with the high-placed and high-paid official.
In combination with verbal active and passive voices, it points out the idea of a latent reciprocity:Judge not, that ye be not judgedAn alternative way to use the device is to develop polyptoton over the course of an entire novel, which is done in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
According to Duyfhuizen, the gradual development of polyptoton in Frankenstein is significant because it symbolizes the intricacies of one's own identity.