Definitions 1
Sentence marked by the use of connecting words between clauses or sentences, explicitly showing the logical or other relationships between them
Hypotactic
sentence which uses a conjunction with NO commas to separate the items in a series.
Polysyndeton
A character who acts as contrast to another character. Often a funny side kick to the dashing hero, or a villain contrasting the hero.
Foil
a figure of speech in which a person, place, or thing, is referred to by something closely associated with it.
Metonymy
"There were no rooms at the inn. We drove farther until we found a hotel. It was raining heavily and we got soaked on the way to the door. Our socks stank of mildew. We ate dinner there and talked little."
- Ernest Hemmingway
Paratactic
An adjective or adjective phrase applied to a person or thing that is frequently used to emphasize a characteristic quality
Epithet
A term applied to fiction or poetry which tends to place special emphasis on a particular setting, including its customs, clothing, dialect and landscape.
Local color
In poetry, a type of rhetorical balance in which the second part is syntactically balanced against the first, but with the parts reversed.
Chiasmus
device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated both at the beginning and at the end of the line, clause, or sentence.
Epanalepsis
The ocean, containing waves and tides within, may be referred to as "the waves."
He was going to hit the waves after a long day at school.
Synecdoche
Poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit
Juxtaposition
Two consecutive rhyming lines of poetry.
Couplet
a recurring image, word, phrase, action, idea, object, or situation used throughout a work (or in several works by one author), unifying the work by tying the current situation to previous ones, or new ideas to the theme.
Motif
form of fiction or nonfiction that teaches a specific lesson or moral or provides a model of correct behavior or thinking.
Didactic
"A penny saved is a penny earned"
"Don't count your chickens before they hatch".
Aphorism
Repetition of a word, phrase, or clause at the beginning of two or more sentences in a row. This is a deliberate form of repetition and helps make a writer's point more coherent.
Anaphora
or all knowing narrator tells the story, also using the third person pronouns. This narrator, instead of focusing on one character only, often tells us everything about many characters.
Omniscient POV
brief, cleverly worded statement that makes a wise observation about life, or of a principle or accepted general truth.
Aphorism
Words which are inaccurate if interpreted literally, but are used to describe. Similes and metaphors are common forms.
Figurative Language
"I wouldn't say no."
"That wasn't the worst book I've read."
Litotes
Placing in immediately succeeding order of two or more coordinate elements, the latter of which is an explanation, qualification, or modification of the first (often set off by a colon).
Apposition
A narrator who is totally impersonal and objective tells the story, with no comment on any characters or events.
Objective POV
Device of repetition in which the same expression (single word or phrase) is repeated at the end of two or more lines, clauses, or sentences (it is the opposite of anaphora).
Epistrophe
does not state explicitly the two terms of the comparison
Implied Metaphor
"If there be cords, or knives, or poison, or fire, or suffocating streams, I'll not endure it." - Shakespeare, Othello
Polysyndeton