Rhetorical devices
Terms
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- Polysyndeton
- the use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton.
- Anadiplosis
- repeats the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next
- Chiasmus
- "reverse parallelism," since the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order.
- Litotes
- a particular form of understatement, is generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used.
- Distinctio
- an explicit reference to a particular meaning or to the various meanings of a word, in order to remove or prevent ambiguity
- Conduplicatio
- resembles anadiplosis in the repetition of a preceding word, but it repeats a key word (not just the last word) from a preceding phrase, clause, or sentence, at the beginning of the next.
- Amplification
- involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over.
- Understatement
- deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact.
- Metabasis
- consists of a brief statement of what has been said and what will follow.
- Epistrophe
- the repetition of the same word or words comes at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences
- Parallelism
- recurrent syntactical similarity.
- Epanalepsis
- repeats the beginning word of a clause or sentence at the end.
- Anaphora
- the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism
- Asyndeton
- consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses.
- Zeugma
- includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech.
- Procatalepsis
- by anticipating an objection and answering it, permits an argument to continue moving forward while taking into account points or reasons opposing either the train of thought or its final conclusions.
- Expletive
- a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal synax, used to lend emphasis to the words imeediately to poximate the expletive.
- Antithesis
- establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure.
- Rhetorical question
- differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer, because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no.
- Hypophora
- consists of raising one or more questions and then proceeding to answer them, usually at some length.