the recurrence of initial consonant sounds.

comparison two things, which are alike in several respects, for the purpose of explaining or clarifying some unfamiliar or difficult idea or object by showing how the idea or object is similar to some familiar one

You may abuse a tragedy, though you cannot write one. You may scold a carpenter who has made you a bad table, though you cannot make a table. It is not your trade to make tables. --Samuel Johnson

the repetition of the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences, commonly in conjunction with climax and with parallelism

reversing the order of repeated words or phrases (a loosely chiastic structure, AB-BA) to intensify the final formulation, to present alternatives, or to show contrast

one word irony, established by context

"Come here, Tiny," he said to the fat man.

establishes a clear, contrasting relationship between two ideas by joining them together or juxtaposing them, often in parallel structure

That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. --Neil Armstrong

interrupts the discussion or discourse and addresses directly a person or personified thing, either present or absent. Its most common purpose in prose is to give vent to or display intense emotion, which can no longer be held back

a noun or noun substitute placed next to (in apposition to) another noun to be described or defined by the appositive. It can be placed before or after the noun.

Henry Jameson, the boss of the operation, always wore a red baseball cap.

similar vowel sounds repeated in successive or proximate words containing different consonants

A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid

consists of omitting conjunctions between words, phrases, or clauses. Gives the effect of unpremeditated multiplicity, of an extemporaneous rather than a labored account

On his return he received medals, honors, treasures, titles, fame.

an extravagant, implied metaphor using words in an alien or unusual way

might be called "reverse parallelism," since the second part of a grammatical construction is balanced or paralleled by the first part, only in reverse order

The computer mainframe is now on sale; available also at a discount is the peripheral equipment.

an informally-stated syllogism which omits either one of the premises or the conclusion (the major premise)

He is an American citizen, so he is entitled to due process. [All American citizens are entitled to due process.]

detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point more forcibly

I love her eyes, her hair, her nose, her cheeks, her lips [etc.].

an adjective or adjective phrase appropriately qualifying a subject (noun) by naming a key or important characteristic of the subject

"laughing happiness," "sneering contempt," "untroubled sleep," "peaceful dawn," and "lifegiving water."

Eponym

substitutes for a particular attribute the name of a famous person recognized for that attribute. Border on the cliche, but many times they can be useful without seeming too obviously trite

You think your boyfriend is tight. I had a date with Scrooge himself last night.

a single word or short phrase, usually interrupting normal syntax, used to lend emphasis to the words immediately proximate to the expletive. (We emphasize the words on each side of a pause or interruption in order to maintain continuity of the thought.)

But the lake was not, in fact, drained before April.

the counterpart of understatement, deliberately exaggerates conditions for emphasis or effect. In formal writing, it must be clearly intended as an exaggeration, and should be carefully restricted

There are a thousand reasons why more research is needed on solar energy.

Litotes

particular form of understatement that generated by denying the opposite or contrary of the word which otherwise would be used. Depending on the tone and context of the usage, it either retains the effect of understatement, or becomes an intensifying expression

compares two different things by speaking of one in terms of the other. Asserts that one thing is  another thing, not just that one is like another (invoked by the to be verb)

I wonder when motor mouth is going to run out of gas.

another form of metaphor, very similar to synecdoche in which the thing chosen for the metaphorical image is closely associated with (but not an actual part of) the subject with which it is to be compared

the use of words whose pronunciation imitates the sound the word describes

a paradox reduced to two words, usually in an adjective-noun ("eloquent silence") or adverb-adjective ("inertly strong") relationship, and is used for effect, complexity, emphasis, or wit

a recurrent syntactical similarity where several parts of a sentence or several sentences are expressed similarly to show that the ideas in the parts or sentences are equal in importance. It also adds balance and rhythm and, most importantly, clarity to the sentence

He liked to eat watermelon and to avoid grapefruit

final form of hyperbaton which consists of a word, phrase, or whole sentence inserted as an aside in the middle of another sentence:

the use of a conjunction between each word, phrase, or clause, and is thus structurally the opposite of asyndeton

They read and studied and wrote and drilled. I laughed and played and talked and flunked.

differs from hypophora in that it is not answered by the writer, because its answer is obvious or obviously desired, and usually just a yes or no. Used for effect, emphasis, or provocation, or for drawing a conclusionary statement from the facts at hand.

a comparison between two different things that resemble each other in at least one way. It is a device both of art and explanation, comparing an unfamiliar thing to some familiar thing (an object, event, process, etc.) known to the reader.

a type of metaphor in which the part stands for the whole, the whole for a part, the genus for the species, the species for the genus, the material for the thing made, or in short, any portion, section, or main quality for the whole or the thing itself (or vice versa).

deliberately expresses an idea as less important than it actually is, either for ironic emphasis or for politeness and tact. (When the writer's audience can be expected to know the true nature of a fact which might be rather difficult to describe adequately in a brief space, the writer may choose to understate the fact as a means of employing the reader's own powers of description)

The 1906 San Francisco earthquake interrupted business somewhat in the downtown area.

includes several similar rhetorical devices, all involving a grammatically correct linkage (or yoking together) of two or more parts of speech by another part of speech. Its purpose is to show the relationships between ideas and actions more clearly

Fred excelled at sports; Harvey at eating; Tom with girls.

involves repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize what might otherwise be passed over. It allows you to call attention to, emphasize, and expand a word or idea to make sure the reader realizes its importance or centrality in the discussion