style and analysis terms

alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of several words in close succession

anaphora

repetition of the same word / group of words at the beginning of clauses

assonance

resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words

asyndeton

‘and’ / other conjugations are missing in a sentence

balance

two or more phrases placed in the same order

chiasmus

words ordered to achieve a mirroring effect, either in what they mean or what part of speech/case they are

climax

where the important word(s) in a description are delayed until the end of the sentence, thus building up the tension

ellipsis

omission of a word(s) to promote a concept

enclosing order

two words which agree with each other are put ay the beginning and the end of a longing phrase/sentence, thus enclosing all the other words

historic present

use of the present tense instead of the past to make the passage more vivid

homoioteleuton

repetition of the same ending in successive or nearby words

hyperbaton

inversion of normal order of words for emphasis

juxtaposition

two things being seen/placed close together with contrasting effect

metaphor

word used not in its original sense but resembling it

pathos

appeal to an audience’s emotions

pejorative

word used in a derogatory sense to arose disgust

pleonasm

use of more words than necessary to convey meaning, either as a fault of style or for emphasis

plosive

denoting a consonant that is produced by stopping the airflow using the lips/teeth/palate, followed by a sudden release of air

polyptoton

repetition of the same root word, however each time the word is repeated it is in a different form

polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions like ‘and’

rhetorical question

dramatic/sarcastic question to which the answer is obvious, and therefore the speaker does not expect an answer

sibilance

repetition of the ‘s’ sound at the beginning of words

superlative

expressing the highest / a very high degree of a quality

tacking on

extra phrase/clause added after the apparent completion of the sentence

tautology

saying of the same thing twice

tricolon

list of three nouns/phrases

tricolon crescendo

list of three phrases increasing in length/gravity with each

variatio

variation in the way two or more parallel ideas are expressed or in the use of synonyms

zeugma

use of two words/phrases with one verb which has a different meaning with each of the two words