Rhetorical Devices List #3

Personification

A literary device where human traits and qualities are attributed to inanimate objects or abstract concepts, allowing them to express emotions or perform actions.

Cumulative Sentence

A complex sentence that builds upon its main idea through a series of subordinate clauses, adding detail and depth.

Periodic Sentence

A complex sentence that presents its main idea at the end, withholding information until the conclusion to create suspense or emphasis.

Rhetorical Question

A question that is posed by the writer, but is not answered because the answer if self-evident. The answer is implied, prompting the audience to think on the subject. The question is often a yes or no question.

Hyperbaton (inversion)

any departure from normal word order; the unexpected arrangement of words to call sharp attention towards the word(s) that are out of order. Often the ending and beginning are switched.

Zeugma

linking together two of more words, phrases, or clauses by another word that is stated in one place and only implied in the rest of the sentence(s)

Antimetabole

repeating a phrase in reverse order (you like her; she likes you)

Antithesis 

contrasts two ideas by placing them next to each other, almost always in a parallel structure- almost combining parallelism and oxymoron.

Metonymy

an associated idea is substituted for the subject (type of metaphor)

Synecdoche

a part is substituted for the whole (the suits were busy at their computers)