Editing Syntactic ambiguity (section)

==Examples==
:''The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose.'' — ''[[Henry VI, part 2|Henry VI]]'' (1.4.30), by [[William Shakespeare]]
:*Henry will depose the duke.
:*The duke will depose Henry.
::Amphiboly occurs frequently in [[poetry]], sometimes owing to the alteration of the natural order of words for metrical reasons.

:''{{lang|la|Eduardum occidere nolite timere bonum est.}}'' — ''[[Edward II (play)|Edward II]]'' by [[Christopher Marlowe]]
:: [[Isabella of France]] and [[Roger Mortimer, 1st Earl of March]] supposedly plotted to murder [[Edward II of England]] in such a way as not to draw blame on themselves, sending this order in Latin which changes meaning depending on where the [[comma]] is placed.
:* Do not be afraid to kill Edward; it is good. (either Edward, killing him, or being afraid to kill him is good)
:* Do not kill Edward; it is good to fear. (either Edward or killing him is good to fear)

:''I'm glad I'm a man, and so is Lola.'' — "[[Lola (song)|Lola]]" by [[the Kinks]] (written by [[Ray Davies]])
:*Lola and I are both glad I'm a man.
:*I'm glad I'm a man, and Lola is also a man.
:*I'm glad I'm a man, and I'm also glad Lola is a man.
:*I'm glad I'm a man, and Lola is also glad to be a man.
::The ambiguity is intentional and alludes to a [[cross-dresser]].

:''John saw the man on the mountain with a telescope.''
:*John, using a telescope, saw a man on a mountain.
:*John saw a man on a mountain which had a telescope on it.
:*John saw a man on a mountain who had a telescope.
:*John, on a mountain and using a telescope, saw a man.
:*John, on a mountain, saw a man who had a telescope.

:''The word of the Lord came to Zechariah, son of Berekiah, son of Iddo, the prophet.''<ref>{{Bibleverse|Zechariah|1:7|KJV}} (King James Version)</ref>
:*... the prophet Zechariah, who was the son of Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo
:*... Zechariah, who was the son of the prophet Berekiah, who was the son of Iddo
:*... Zechariah, who was the son of Berekiah, who was the son of the prophet Iddo
:*... the prophet Zechariah, who was the son of Berekiah and Iddo
:*... Zechariah, who was the son of Berekiah and Iddo, the prophet

:''[[Lesbian Vampire Killers]]'', the title of a comedy-horror film
:* Lesbians who kill vampires.
:* Killers of lesbian vampires.
:* Lesbian vampires that are killers.

:"[[The Purple People Eater]]" by [[Sheb Wooley]]
:* A purple creature that eats people.
:* A creature that eats purple people. (This interpretation is confirmed in the lyrics, although whether the creature itself is also purple is never made clear.)

:''British Left Waffles on Falkland Islands.''<ref>headline, ''The Guardian'', April 28, 1982, as quoted by Gloria Cooper, "Mailbag", ''Barron's'', February 19, 2001</ref>
:* The British party of the left rambles indecisively about Falkland Island policy.
:* The British forces left behind waffles (the breakfast item) on the Falkland Islands.

[[Aristotle]] writes about an influence of ambiguities on arguments and also about this influence depending on either combination or division of words:

{{Quotation|... if one combines the words 'to write-while-not-writing': for then it means, that he has the power to write and not to write at once; whereas if one does not combine them, it means that when he is not writing he has the power to write.|Aristotle|Sophistical refutations, Book I, Part 4|}}