Lang schemes and tropes

Alliteration

repetition of consonant sounds in successive words.

Anaphora

Repetition at the beginning of successive clause or sentences

epistrophe

repetition at the end of successive sentences or clauses.

Parallelism

Similar syntactical pattern in multiple sentences, clauses, or paragraphs

Antimetabole

A “mirrored” sentence effect in which a sentence or aclause is reversed in a subsequent sentence or clause

Antithesis

Parallelism that creates a negation

Circumlocution

An idea that could be simply expressed is elaborately expressed

Climax

Series of examples with the final example in the series being the most imporatant or receiving the most emphasis.

Hypophora

A rhetorical device where a speaker poses a question and then immediately answers it, often used to engage the audience.

Juxtaposition

Two ideas/objects/whatever are compared/contrasted

Rhetorical question

A question posed for effect, not requiring an answer, often used to provoke thought or emphasize a point.

Zeugma

A single word or phrase is applied to two others in different senses

Polysyndeton

In a series, the use of no commas with an excessive amount of coordinating conjunctions

Asyndeton

In a series, the use of commas without coordinating conjuctions (FANBOYS) to separate the commas.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration

Irony

Contrast between reality and expectations

Metaphor

Compares two unlike things

Metonymy

Something closely related represents or stands in for the whole

Oxymoron

Two words next to each other that create an ironic contrast or opposition

Paradox

A phrase or statement that negates reality, that creates something that can’t happen

Personification

attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or objects.

Pun

A form of wordplay that exploits multiple meanings of a term or similar-sounding words for humorous or rhetorical effect.

Simile

A figure of speech that compares two different things using the words "like" or "as."

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is used to represent the whole or vice versa.

Understatement

A rhetorical device that intentionally makes a situation seem less important or serious than it is.