Schemes and Tropes Review

Metonymy

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

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Paradox

A statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

Synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

Zuegma

When a single word governs or modifies two or more other words, and the meaning of the first word must change for each of the other words it governs or modifies.

Alliosis

presenting alternatives in a balanced manner

Alliteration

the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.

Anaphora

repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines

Anapodoton

Deliberately creating a sentence fragment by the omission of a clause

Anastrophe

Inversion of the natural or usual word order

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order

Antithesis

Direct opposite

Aposiopesis

stopping abruptly and leaving a statement unfinished

Appositive

A noun or noun phrase that follows another noun immediately or defines or amplifies its meaning

Asyndenton

omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

Chiasmus

A statement consisting of two parallel parts in which the second part is structurally reversed

Enallage

intentionally misusing grammar to characterize a speaker or to create a memorable phrase

Epanalepsis

repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause

Epenthesis

Adding an extra syllable or letters in the middle of a word

Epistrophe

the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

Metaplasmus

misspelling a word to create a rhetorical effect, such as to capture dialect, e.g. spelling "dog" as "dawg."

Parrallelism

The repetition of similar grammatical or syntactical patterns.

prosthesis

Adding an extra syllable or letters to the beginning of a word.

Symploce

Repeating words at both the beginning and the ending of a phrase

Tmesis

Intentionally breaking a word into two parts for emphasis

Zuegma

use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings

Anthimeria

the substitution of one part of speech for another

Aporia

Talking about not being able to talk about something

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.

Erotema

asking a rhetorical question to the reader as a transition or as a thought-provoking tool before proceeding

Meiosis

Understatement, the opposite of exaggeration

Personification

A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as"

synathesia

the description of one kind of sensation in terms of another

Schemes (Syntax)

involves the arrangement of ideas, words, or phrases that are stylistically effective. Often, as in parallelism, the pattern of the words effectively reinforces the meaning. Schemes are figures of speech that deal with word order, syntax, letters, and sounds, rather than the meaning of words.

Anadiplosis

Figure of repetition that occurs when the last word or terms in one sentence, clause, or phrase is/are repeated at or very near the beginning of the next sentence, clause, or phrase.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Ellipsis

the omission of a word or phrase which is grammatically necessary but can be deduced from the context

Polysendeton

the use of more conjunction than is necessary

Loose Sentence

A complex sentence in which the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows

Tropes

figures of speech with an unexpected twist in the meaning of words

Catachresis

A completely impossible figure of speech

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

Irony

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

onomatapoeia

the use of words that imitate the sounds they make (i.e. buzz, sizzle, hiss, gurgle)

Puns (Paronomasia)

twists the meaning of words, often to create a humorous effect

Climax

the most intense, exciting, or important point of something; a culmination or apex.

Periodic Sentence

a complex sentence in which the main clause comes last and is preceded by the subordinate clause