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| The repetition of initial consonant sounds or any vowel sounds within a formal grouping, such as a poetic line or stanza, or in close proximity in prose |
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| A figure of speech which makes brief, even casual reference to a historical or literary figure, event, or object to create a resonance in the reader or to apply a symbolic meaning. |
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| Comparison of two things which are alike in some respects. Metaphors and similes are both types of analogy. |
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| The regular repetition of the same word or phrase at the beginning of successive phrases or clauses. It is a common element in the most famous speeches (“Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.” JFK) |
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| A brief story or tale told by a writer that relates to his or her subject or purpose |
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| Repetition of words in reverse order (“I know what I like, and I like what I know.”) |
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| The juxtaposition of sharply contrasting ideas in balanced or parallel words or phrases |
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| A figure of speech in which a person, thing, or abstract quality is addressed as if present; for example, the invocation to the muses usually found in epic poetry or in songs: “Blue moon, I saw you standing alone…” |
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| Old-fashioned or outdated choice of words |
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| The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds, usually in successive or proximate words. |
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| The practice of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. In a list, it gives a more extemporaneous effect and suggests the list may be incomplete. An example of Antony’s words from Julius Caesar: “Are all thy conquests, glories, triumphs, spoils shrunk to this little measure?” (And is missing before "spoils") |
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| Figure of speech by which the order of the terms in the first of parallel clauses is reversed in the second. “Has the Church failed mankind, or has mankind failed the Church?”-- T.S. Eliot |
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| Ordinary language; the vernacular. For example, depending on where in the United States you live, a sandwich is called a sub, a grinder, or a hero. |
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| Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on |
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| Sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action |
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| Sensory details in writing or speaking; the use of figurative language to evoke a feeling, call to mind an idea, or describe an object. Imagery involves any or all of the five senses |
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| Inverted order of words in a sentence (subject-verb order is reversed) |
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| Placing of two items side by side to create a certain effect, reveal an attitude, or accomplish some other purpose |
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| Figure of speech comparing two things without using like or as |
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| A figure of speech that combines two apparently contradictory elements, as in "jumbo shrimp" or "deafening silence." |
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| A statement that seems contradictory, but is actually true (John Legend’s “All of Me” is full of paradoxes—“My head’s under water but I’m breathing fine” and “all your perfect imperfections”) |
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| Recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed alike to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences equal in importance. It also adds balance, rhythm, and clarity to the sentence. For example, "I have always searched for, but have never found, the perfect painting for that wall." |
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| A sentence that withholds its main clause until the end. For example: Just as he bent to tie his shoe, a car hit him. |
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| Attibution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea |
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| Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer |
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| Figure of speech that uses a part to represent the whole (or a whole to represent the part): “all hands on deck” or “nice wheels”; the U.S. won a gold medal; “The Pentagon announced…” or “The White House announced…” to refer to the policymakers, not the thing itself. |
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| The way words are put together to form phrases, clauses, and sentences. It is sentence structure and how it influences the way a reader perceives a piece of writing |
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- A figure of speech where a word applies to multiple parts of the sentence that produces different, often incongruous, meanings.
- Examples: "You are free to execute your laws--and your citizens--as you see fit" (from "Star Trek-TNG")
- "His boat and his dreams sank."
- "Teddy Bridgewater crossed the goal line to give the Vikings a lead in the third quarter, but some thought a different line was crossed by St. Louis at the end of another scramble" (vikings.com).
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