Tropes and Schemes

AKHS Campolmi Lang

allusion

brief reference to a person, event, or place, real or fictitious, or to a work of art--"Let both sides unite to heed in all corners of the earth the command of Isaiah."

anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines--"not as a call to bear arms, though arms we need--not as a call to battle, though embattled we are"

antimetabole

Repeating words in reverse order for surprise and emphasis--"Ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country."

antithesis

opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a balanced or parallel construction--"We shall support any friend, oppose any foe".

asyndeton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words---"We shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty."

Juxtaposition

placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons and contrasts---"We are the heirs of that first revolution. Let the word go forth. . .that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans--born in this century."

oxymoron

paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another---"But this peaceful revolution."

parallelism

similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses---"Let both sides explore. . .Let both sides, for the first time, formulate serious and precise proposals. . .Let both sides seek to invoke. . .Let both sides unit to heed."

personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes---"with history the final judge of our deeds"

rhetorical question

A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected---"Will you join in that historic effort?"

schemes

Deviating from the typical pattern or arrangement of words to add emphasis to the author's ideas.

Polysyndeton

deliberate use of many conjunctions

Epistrophe

repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses

Irony

use of a word in such a way as to convey a meaning opposite to the literal meaning of the word

Paradox

an apparently contradictory statement that nevertheless contains a measure of truth

Asyndeton example

I came, I saw, I conquered

Epistrophe example

"I'll have my bond! Speak not against my bond! I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond!" (The Merchant of Venice, III, iii, 3-4)

Anadiplosis example

Labor and care are rewarded with success, success produces confidence, confidence relaxes industry, and negligence ruins the reputation which diligence had raised.

Chiasmus example

By day the frolic, and the dance by night

Paradox example

Art is a form of lying to tell the truth

Apostrophe

A rhetorical term for breaking off discourse to address some absent person or thing.--- "Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are.

Up above the world so high,

Like a diamond in the sky."

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, make a point, or evoke humor.

Litotes

a type of understatement in which an idea is expressed by negating its opposite

trope

artful diction; the use of language in a nonliteral way; also called a figure of speech

Zeugma

A construction in which one word (usually a verb) modifies or governs—often in different, sometimes incongruent ways—two or more words in a sentence.

Hypophora

raising a question then proceeding to answer it

Climax

Arranging words in order of least to most importance -I came, I saw, I conquered

Circumlocation

indirect language, using more words than necesary - the lady of the house

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used for the whole

Pun

a joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or the fact that there are words that sound alike but have different meanings.

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which something is referred to by using the name of something that is associated with it

Anthimeria

one part of speech, usually a verb, substitutes for another, usually a noun