More than one sentence is governed by a single word, usually a verb.
What is Zeugma
100
This contributes greatly to the rhythm of sentences and creates equivalent elements set forth in coordinate grammatical structures.
What is Parallelism.
100
"Those who have been left out, we will try to bring in. Those left behind, we will help to catch up." - Richard M. Nixon
What is Antithesis.
100
The similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
What is Parallelism.
100
"... and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." -Abraham Lincoln
What is Asyndeton.
200
The deliberate omission of conjunctions between a series of related clauses.
What is Asyndeton.
200
This sends the thought off on a tangent, but it is not necessary for the completion of a sentence. Using this, the sentence gets an emotional charge that it would otherwise not have.
What is Parenthesis.
200
"So singularly clear was the water that when it was only twenty or thirty feet deep the bottom seemed floating in the air! Yes where it was even eighty feet deep. Every little pebble was distinct, every speckled trout, every hand's-breadth of sand." - Mark Twain
What is Ellipsis.
200
The juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, often in parallel structure.
What is Antithesis.
200
"Progress is not proclamation nor palaver. It is not pretense nor play on prejudice. It is not the perturbation of a people passion-wrought nor a promise proposed." - Warren G. Harding
What is Alliteration.
300
The repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses.
What is Epistrophe.
300
This is used for emphasis and sometimes humorous effect.
What is Alliteration.
300
"Persons attempting to find a motive in this narrative will be prosecuted; persons attempting to find a moral in it will be banished; persons attempting to find a plot in it will be shot." - Mark Twian
What is Anaphora.
300
The inversion of the natural or usual word order.
What is Anastrophe.
300
"By day the frolic, and the dance by night." - Samuel Johnson
What is Chiasmus.
400
The reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses.
What is Chiasmus.
400
This can be an effective persuasive device, subtly influencing the kind of response one wants to get from an audience. The manner in which the question is phrased can determine either a negative or an affirmative response.
What is Erotema.
400
"Labor and care are rewarded with success, success produces confidence, confidence relaxes industry, and negligence ruins the reputation which diligence had raised." - Samuel Johnson
What is Anadiplosis.
400
Insertion of some verbal unit in a position that interrupts the normal syntactical flow of the sentence.
What are Parenthesis.
400
"Wasn't the cult of James a revealing symbol and 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 Erotema.
500
Asking a question in order to reproach or upbraid, rather than to elicit information.
What is Epiplexis.
500
In doing this, authority is demonstrated.
What is Hypophora.
500
"Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country." - John F. Kennedy
What is Antimetabole.
500
The deliberate omission of a word or of words that are really implied by the context.
What is Ellipsis.
500
"Who taught me to curl myself inside a buttercup? Iolanthe! Who taught me to swing upon a cobweb? Iolanthe! Who taught me to dive into a dewdrop - to nestle in a nutshell - to gambol upon gossamer? Iolanthe!" - Gilbert and Sullivan