Scheme: An artful deviation from the ordinary arrangement of words
Trope: An artful deviation from the ordinary significance of a word
Parallelism: similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses
Climactic parallelism: the arrangement of w/p/c in an order of increasing importance, often in parallel
structure.
Isocolon: A series of similarly structured elements having the same length, emphasizing similarity of elements
Antithesis: contrast of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction
Juxtaposition: a device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one
another, especially for comparison or contrast
Paradox: A self-contradictory statement that reveals a deeper truth
Oxymoron: Placing two ordinarily opposing terms adjacent to one another
Listing: a series of items one after the other, designed to create a feeling of plenty
Transition/Segue: A statement in which one explains what has been and what will be said.
Ellipsis: Omission of a word or short phrase easily understood in context.
Asyndeton: omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words, often resulting in a
hurried rhythm or vehement effect.
Paralepsis: emphasizing a point by seeming to pass over it
Rhetorical question: a question that does not need to be answered, because the answer is obvious, and is
usually just yes or no
Rhetorical fragment: a sentence fragment used deliberately for persuasive purpose
Repetition: a device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once
Synonymia: the use of several synonyms together to amplify or explain a subject or term
Anadiplosis: repetition of a word (or phrase) from the previous line, clause, or sentence at the beginning of the
next.
Anaphora: repetition of a word, phrase, group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
Epanalepsis: repetition at the end of a line, phrase, clause or sentence of the word that occurred at the
beginning of the same line, phrase, clause, or sentence
Epimone: frequent repetition of a phrase or question; dwelling on a point
Epistrophe: repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses
Parenthesis: insertion of some word or clause in a position that interrupts the normal syntactic flow of the
sentence
Polysyndeton: the repetition of conjunctions in a series of coordinate words, phrases, or clauses, often slowing
the tempo or rhythm
Chiasmus/Antimetabole: a sentence strategy in which the arrangement of ideas in the second clause is a
reversal of the first
Stichomythia: dialogue in which the endings and beginnings of each line echo each other, taking on a new
meaning with each new line, as in the following example from Hamlet.
Zeugma: the use of a verb that has two different meanings with objects that complement both meanings