Definitions
Definitions
Example
Purpose
Purpose
100
Juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure
What is an antithesis?
100
Insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence.
What is a parenthesis?
100
"The Negro needs the white man to free him form his fears. The white man needs the Negro to free him from his guilt." ~Martin Luter King Jr. (1966)
What is an example of an antimetabole?
100
To secure emphasis at the beginning or end of a clause, and to gain attention
What is the purpose of an anastrophe?
100
To highlight a cause-and-effect relationship
What is the purpose of an anadiplosis?
200
More than one item in a sentence governed by a single word, usually a verb.
What is a zeugma?
200
Deliberate use of conjunctions
What is a polysyndeton?
200
"By day the frolic, and the dance by night." ~Samuel Johnson, "The Vanity of Human Wishes"
What is an example of a chiasmus?
200
To stress the importance of the controlling verb
What is the purpose of a zeugma?
200
To reinforce a contrast with a reversal of grammatical structure
What is the purpose of a chiasmus?
300
Inversion of the natural or usual word order
What is an anastrophe?
300
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginnings of successive clauses
What is an anaphora?
300
"Wasn't the cult of James a revealing symbol of an age and society which wanted to dwell like him in some false world of false art and false culture?" ~Maxwell Geismar
What is an example of an erotema?
300
To briefly express the author's personal voice, opinion, and commentary which emotionally charge the sentence.
What is the purpose of a parenthesis?
300
To ask a question in order to assert or deny it indirectly.
What is the purpose of an erotema?
400
Deliberate omission of conjunction between a series of relative clauses.
What is an asyndeton?
400
Repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses
What is an epistrophe?
400
"Who taught me to curl myself inside a buttercup? Iolanthe! Who taught me to swing up a cobweb? Iolanthe! Who taught me to dive into a dewdrop–to nestle in a nutshell–to gambol upon gossamer? Iolanthe!" Gilbert and Sullivan, Iolanthe
What is an example of a hypophora?
400
To produce a hurried rhythm in a sentence.
What is the purpose of an asyndeton?
400
To demonstrate authority by asking and immediately answering a question
What is the purpose of a hypophoria?
500
Deliberate omission of a word or words that are readily implied by the context
What is an ellipses?
500
Repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause
What is an anadiplosis?
500
"In the name of heaven, Catiline, how long do you propose to exploit out patience? Do you really suppose that your lunatic activities are going to escape our retaliation for evermore? Are there to be no limits to this audacious, uncontrollable swaggering?" ~Cicero, first speech against Catiline
What is an example of an epiplexis?
500
To set a pronounced rhythm and secure a special emphasis on a repeated word at the ends of clauses.
What is the purpose of an epistrophe?
500
To use questioning in order to scold or condemn
What is the purpose of an epiplexis?
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