4 Poetry 3 Short

Rhetorical Figure

An artful deviation from ordinary language for effect; includes both tropes and schemes

Tropes

Rhetorical figures that change the meaning of words; focus on semantic deviation

Schemes

Rhetorical figures that change the structure, order, or sound of language; focus on syntactic or phonological deviation

Are there only two classical categories

Yes, traditionally rhetorical figures are divided into tropes and schemes

Modern classification of rhetorical figures

Modern linguistics adds dimensions like morphological, syntactic, semantic, phonological, and pragmatic figures

Morphological Figures

Figures that play with the form or structure of words; e.g. polyptoton (strong / strength)

Syntactic Figures

Figures that manipulate sentence structure or word order; e.g. anaphora, chiasmus

Semantic Figures

Figures that play with meaning; overlaps with tropes; e.g. metaphor, irony

Phonological Figures

Figures based on the sound of words; overlaps with schemes; e.g. alliteration, assonance

Pragmatic Figures

Figures that consider speaker intention and context; e.g. rhetorical questions, irony, understatement

Polyptoton (Morphological)

Repetition of the same root word in different forms; e.g. strong / strength

Anaphora (Syntactic)

Repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

Chiasmus (Syntactic)

Inverted parallel structure; e.g. Ask not what your country can do for you§

Metaphor (Semantic)

Saying one thing is another to imply a deeper meaning; e.g. Time is a thief§

Irony (Semantic/Pragmatic)

Saying the opposite of what one means, often for humor or criticism§

Alliteration (Phonological)

Repetition of initial consonant sounds; e.g. Peter Piper picked a peck§

Assonance (Phonological)

Repetition of vowel sounds within nearby words; e.g. Men sell the wedding bells§

Rhetorical Question (Pragmatic)

A question asked for effect, not for an answer§

Understatement (Pragmatic)

Deliberately making something seem less important or intense than it is§