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