Guide - 2023
Alliteration
The repetition of similar consonant sounds within a phrase or sentence
Allusion
A reference to a well-known person, event, place, literary work, or work of art
Anaphora
repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or lines
Antithesis
two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect
Example: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Asyndeton
the absence of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses or words.
Example: "I came, I saw, I conquered."
Purpose - helps in reducing the indirect meaning of the phrase and presents it in a
concise form; typically used to give a list energy and spontaneity.
Conduplicatio
repetition of a key word over successive phrases or clauses
Example: "We will have difficult times. We've had difficult times in the past. And we will
have difficult times in the future." (Robert F. Kennedy's Eulogy for Martin Luther King,
Jr., 1968)
Purpose - Serves as an effective focusing device showing the reader what to
concentrate on
Foreshadowing
Giving clues to the reader about what will happen next.
Imagery
Language that creates a sensory impression within the reader's mind (includes appeals
to the visual (eyes), auditory (ears), tactile (touch), thermal (heat or cold), olfactory
(smell), gustatory (taste), and kinesthetic
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which something is described as though it were something else
without using "like" or "as."
Paralipsis
pretending to omit something
Example: "I will not even mention the fact that my opponent was a poor student."
Purpose -- Saying that one will not mention the person, subject, event, etc. has the
opposite effect; it draws the audience's attention in that direction.
Parallel structure/parallelism
Similarity in structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
Example: "They are protesting for the perpetuation of injustice in the community; we're
protesting for the birth of justice. . . ."
Note: It is the repetition of grammatical structures, not words (as in anaphora or
conduplicatio).