Schemes and Tropes Flashcards

Parallelism 

When phrases in a sentence have similar or the same grammatical structure.

“That’s one step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

isocolon

When a sentence or many sentences is made up of two or more clauses of the same length and similar structure.

"I came, I saw, I conquered."

antithesis

Two opposite ideas formatted side-by-side.

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times."

anastrophe

The rearrangement of a typical word order.

"A chance will I take."

parenthesis

A word, clause, or sentence added to an already grammatically correct sentence as an afterthought or explanation, signaled by the curved brackets, or parenthesis, around the clause.

"The cat (who was very fluffy) sat on the mat."

apposition

When a noun phrase or a noun is placed next to another noun phrase or noun to help identify or explain it.

“Yosemite, my favorite national park, is great for camping.”

ellipsis

An ellipsis is a sequence of dots that serve to show that parts of a sentence have been left out.

"I don't know how to say this… but I'm leaving.”

ansyndeton

When a conjunction is left out from between parts of a sentence.

“She wakes up, goes to work, eats, sleeps, goes to work again.”

polysyndeton

The opposite of asyndeton, it is the addition of many conjunctions, and the omission of commas, in close succession in order to connect words, clauses, or phrases.

“He ran and jumped and laughed for joy.”

alliteration

The repetition of the same sounding consonant at the beginning of words in the same, in close proximity to each other.

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

assonance

Similar to alliteration, but instead it is the repetition of vowel sounds

"The light of the fire is a sight."

anaphora

The repetition of a phrase or word at the beginning of consecutive sentences.

“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia.. 

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation…”

epistrophe

The repetition of a word or clause at the end of consecutive sentences or clauses.

"government of the people, by the people, for the people."

epanalepsis

When the beginning word or phrase of a sentence or clause is repeated at the end of that sentence or clause.

"Nothing is worse than doing nothing."

anadiplosis

The repetition of the last word of a clause or sentence at the beginning of the next clause or sentence.

"Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.”

climax

The highest point of drama or tension in the story.

In Harry Potter, the climax would be the final battle between Harry and Voldemort.

antimetabole

Repeats words in reverse grammatical order in parallel clauses or phrases.

"When the going gets tough, the tough get going."

chiasmus

When a words or concepts are repeated in reverse order in a modified form.

"Ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country."

polyptoton

The repetition of words in different forms within the same sentence.

"The Greeks are strong and skillful to their strength, / Fierce to their skill and to their fierceness valiant."

metaphor

A figure of speech that compares to unlike things not using like or as.

"The exam was a piece of cake."

simile

A figure of speech that compares unlike things using like or as.

“Light as a feather.”

synecdoche

A figure of speech when a part of something is used to refer to the whole of something, or vice versa.

“I can't wait to get back out on the waves.”

metonymy

A figure of speech where a word is substituted for another word that it is closely associated with.

"The White House issued a statement."

antanaclasis

A figure of speech when a word or phrase is repeated but with a different, contrary meaning each time.

"We must all hang together, or assuredly we shall all hang separately."

paronomasis

A figure of speech where a word is used for a humorous effect by playing on similar sounding words with different meanings.

"A bicycle can't stand on its own because it is two-tired."

syllepsis

A figure of speech when a word is applied to two other words but in a different sense.

"He took his hat and his leave."

anthimeria

When a word is used as a different part of speech than its typical grammatical role.

"The little old lady turtled along the road."

periphrasis

The use of a more lengthy or indirect expression in place of a shorter one.

“Please forgive my tardiness, as unforeseen circumstances caused me to arrive later than anticipated.”

personification

Giving human qualities to non-human things.

“The wind whispered secrets.”

hyperbole

Extreme exaggerated statements that are not meant to be taken literally.

"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

litotes

An ironic understatement where an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary.

“It's not bad.”

rhetorical question

A question asked to make a point, not to receive an answer.

"Is the sky blue?"

irony

When words or events are the opposite of what is expected.

A fire station burning down.

onomatopoeia

A figure of speech where a word or words imitate the sound of the object they represent.

"The bee buzzed around the flower."

oxymoron

A figure of speech where contradictory terms appear in the same sentence.

“deafening silence"

paradox

A self contradictory statement that contains a deeper meaning.

"Less is more."