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alliteration |
several words beginning with the same sound or letter |
|
anadiplosis |
repetition of words from end of one phrase at beginning
of next |
|
anaphora |
repetition of words at the beginning |
|
anticlimax |
enumeration in order of decreasing importance |
|
antithesis |
words or phrases that contrast with each other to
create a balanced effect |
|
apostrophe |
sudden shift to direct address |
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asyndeton |
enumeration without conjunctions |
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chiasm |
crosswise arrangement of parts of a sentence |
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climax |
enumeration in order of increasing importance |
|
conceit |
an elaborate, often extravagant metaphor |
|
ellipsis |
leaving out a word |
|
epiphora |
repetition of words at the end |
|
euphemism |
substitution of an inoffensive term for an unpleasant
one ("pass away" for "die") |
|
exclamation |
sudden outcry or interjection expressing violent
emotion |
|
hyperbaton |
change of regular word order |
|
hyperbole |
exaggeration |
|
invocation |
direct address of a god or similar being |
|
irony |
words are used to convey a meaning contrary to their
literal sense |
|
litotes |
emphasis by negating the opposite ("you're not very
clever") |
|
metaphor |
implicit comparison ("you are a silly ass": Tenor = you; vehicle
= ass) (cf. dead metaphor)
|
|
metonymy |
use of one word for a related one ("bottle" for
"drink") |
|
onomatopoeia |
imitation of natural sounds by words |
|
oxymoron |
combination of two contradictory words (bittersweet)
|
|
paradox |
statement that appears contradictory to common sense
yet is true in fact. |
|
parenthesis |
a piece of text that wanders off from the main topic |
|
parallelism |
equal syntactic structure |
|
periphrasis |
round‑about explanation ("the finny tribe" = fish)
|
|
personification |
representation of inanimate objects or abstract
ideas as living beings |
|
polyptoton |
repetition of words in different forms |
|
polysyndeton |
enumeration with conjunctions |
|
prolepsis |
use of a word logically too early (did you see the
man how he looked) |
|
pun |
humorous use of words usually with more than one
meaning |
|
rhetorical question |
no answer is expected by the speaker |
|
rhyme |
similar sounds at word endings |
|
simile |
comparison by means of the words "like" or "as"
between two kinds of ideas or objects |
|
syllepsis |
one word wrongly refers to several in a sentence
|
|
synecdoche |
the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part,
("50 head of cattle," "head") |
|
zeugma |
one word refers to several in sentence with different
meaning |