Abstract: The negation-figure oppositio was re-invented in the Middle Ages by Geoffrey of Vinsauf, who was able to reconstruct it by observing the practice of Virgil, Ovid, Statius, and Lucan. This was the procedure of the grammarians, for Geoffrey's treatment developed independently of the rhetorical tradition. The figure digressiowas developed similarly by Geoffrey, whose approach was also used by two contemporary poets, Joseph of Exeter and Gautier of Châtillon.