English - Rhetorical Devices

Taken from Merriam-Webster's Dictionary

Alliteration

The repetition of usually initial consonant sounds in two or more neighboring words or syllables

• elegant eloquence, ferociously feral

Anacoluthon

Syntactical inconsistency or incoherence within a sentence especially : a shift in an unfinished sentence from one syntactic construction to another

• you really should have—well, what do you expect?

Anadiplosis

Repetition of a prominent and usually the last word in one phrase or clause at the beginning of the next

• rely on his honor—honor such as his?

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

• we cannot dedicate—we cannot consecrate—we cannot hallow—this ground

Antanaclasis

The repetition of a word within a phrase or sentence in which the second occurrence utilizes a different and sometimes contrary meaning from the first, like a pun

• “We must all hang together or most assuredly we shall all hang separately’ (Benjamin Franklin)

Antiphrasis

The usually ironic or humorous use of words in senses opposite to the generally accepted meanings

• “Take your time, we've got all day” meaning “hurry up, we don't have all day”

Antithesis

the direct opposite; contrast of ideas by means of parallel arrangements of words

• her temperament is the very antithesis of mine

• you're the sole master of your fate but also the helpless victim of your upbringing

• true love for another is the antithesis of the desire to control that person's life

Apophasis

The raising of an issue by claiming not to mention it, rhetorical relative of irony

• we won't discuss his past crimes

Aporia

An expression of real or pretended doubt or uncertainty especially for rhetorical effect

Philosophically, a state of puzzlement and perplexity, leading to suspension of judgement

• To be, or not to be: that is the question

Asyndeton

omission or absence of words like “and,” “but,” and “or” from a series of clauses or sentences, speeds up rhythm and adds emphasis

• "I came, I saw, I conquered"

Polysyndeton

lots of “and”

Cacophony

Harshness in the sound of words or phrases, dissonance; incongruous or chaotic combination

• cacophony of sound

Chiasmus

An inverted relationship between the syntactic elements of parallel phrases

• working hard, or hardly working?

Epistrophe

Repetition of a word or expression at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

• of the people, by the people, for the people

Hypallage

An interchange of two elements in a phrase or sentence from a more logical to a less logical relationship

• you are lost to joy for joy is lost to you

Hyperbaton

A transposition or inversion of idiomatic word order

• judge me by my size, do you?

Hyperbole

Extravagant exaggeration

• mile-high ice-cream cones

Juxtaposition

Comparison of two different things placed close together with contrasting effects

• It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…

Litotes

Understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of the contrary

• not a bad singer

Oxymoron

A combination of contradictory or incongruous words

• cruel kindness, benevolent malice

Pleonasm

The use of more words than those necessary to denote mere sense; redundancy

• I saw it with my own eyes

Similie

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by "like" or "as"

• cheeks like roses

Synecdoche

A figure of speech by which a part is put for the whole; the whole for a part

• fifty sail for fifty ships

• society for high society

• cutthroat for assassin

• creature for a man

• boards for stage

Epithet

An adjective or descriptive phrase expressing a quality characteristic of the person or thing mentioned

• Valiant Othello

• Honest Iago (ironic)

Epiphany

a character experiences a moment of clarity that is triggered by encountering a person, object, idea, or situation

Analepsis

a literary device in narrative, in which a past event is narrated at a point later than its chronological place in a story; flashback

Prolepsis

a literary device in narrative, in which a future event is narrated at a point earlier than its chronological place in a story; foreshadowing