Rhetorical Devices

anadiplosis

Repetition of the last word of one phrase, clause, or sentence at or very near the beginning of the next.

anaphora

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

epistrophe

Repetition of a word or phrase at the end of successive clauses or sentences.

symploce

Repetition of a word or phrase at both the beginning and end of successive clauses or sentences.

antithesis

Juxtaposition of a contrasting relationship between two ideas.

asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

polysyndeton

Repeated use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause.

parallelism

Repetition of the same general structure and syntax for multiple parts of a sentence, or for multiple sentences.

chiasmus

Reversing the order of the structure from the first parallel clause in the second parallel clause.

amplification

Repetition of information, with additional detail and information.

distinctio

Elaboration on the meaning of a word.

parenthesis

Insertion of additional information into a sentence or clause.

hypophora

Asking a question, then proceeding to answer it.

rhetorical question

Asking a question for which the answer is implied, not stated.

metonymy

The use of something closely related to the actual object as a way of referring to the object itself.

synecdoche

The use of a part of something to represent the whole.

zeugma

Linking of unexpected items in a sentence by a shared word.