SCHEMES: -accumulation: Summary of previous arguments in a forceful manner -adnomination: Repetition of a word with a change in letter or sound -alliteration: Series of words that begin with the consonant or sound alike -anacoluthon: Change in the syntax within a sentence -anadiplosis: Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another -anaphora: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses -anastrophe: Inversion of the usual word order -anticlimax: Arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance -antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order -antistrophe: Repetition of the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses (see epistrophe) -antithesis: Juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas -aphorismus: Statement that calls into question the definition of a word -aposiopesis: Breaking off or pausing speech for dramatic or emotional effect -apostrophe: Directing the attention away from the audience and to a personified abstraction -apposition: Placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first -assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse -asteismus: Facetious or mocking answer that plays on a word -asyndeton: Omission of conjunctions between related clauses -cacophony: Juxtaposition of words producing a harsh sound -cataphora: Co-reference of one expression with another expression which follows it (example: If you need one, there's a towel in the top drawer.) -classification (literature & grammar): Linking a proper noun and a common noun with an article -chiasmus: Word order in one clause is inverted in the other (inverted parallelism). -climax: Arrangement of words in order of increasing importance -commoratio: Repetition of an idea, re-worded -consonance: Repetition of consonant sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse -dystmesis: A synonym for tmesis -ellipsis: Omission of words -enallage: Substitution of forms that are grammatically different, but have the same meaning -enjambment: Breaking of a syntactic unit (a phrase, clause, or sentence) by the end of a line or between two verses -enthymeme: Informal method of presenting a syllogism -epanalepsis: Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence -epistrophe: Repetition of the same word or group of words at the end of successive clauses. The counterpart of anaphora (also known as antistrophe) -euphony: Opposite of cacophony - i.e. pleasant sounding -hendiadys: Use of two nouns to express an idea when the normal structure would be a noun and a modifier -hendiatris: Use of three nouns to express one idea -homographs: Words that are identical in spelling but different in origin and meaning -homonyms: Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation and spelling, but differing in origin and meaning -homophones:Words that are identical with each other in pronunciation but differing in origin and meaning -hypallage: Changing the order of words so that they are associated with words normally associated with others -hyperbaton: Schemes featuring unusual or inverted word order -hyperbole: Exaggeration of a statement -hysteron proteron: The inversion of the usual temporal or causal order between two elements -isocolon: Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses -internal rhyme: Using two or more rhyming words in the same sentence -kenning: A metonymic compound where the terms together form a sort of anecdote merism: Referring to a whole by enumerating some of its parts -non sequitur: Statement that bears no relationship to the context preceding -onomatopoeia: Word that imitates a real sound (e.g. tick-tock or boom) -paradiastole: Repetition of the disjunctive pair "neither" and "nor" -parallelism: The use of similar structures in two or more clauses -paraprosdokian: Unexpected ending or truncation of a clause -parenthesis: Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence -paroemion: Resolute alliteration in which every word in a sentence or phrase begins with the same letter -parrhesia: Speaking openly or boldly, or apologizing for doing so (declaring to do so) -perissologia: The fault of wordiness -pleonasm: Use of superfluous or redundant words -polyptoton: Repetition of words derived from the same root -polysyndeton: Repetition of conjunctions -pun: When a word or phrase is used in two different senses -sibilance: Repetition of letter 's', it is a form of alliteration -sine dicendo: A statement that is so obvious it need not be stated; when uttered almost seems pointless (e.g. 'You can never save too much') -superlative: Saying something the best of something i.e. the ugliest,the most precious -spoonerism: Interchanging of (usually initial) letters of words with amusing effect -symploce: Simultaneous use of anaphora and epistrophe: the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning and the end of successive clauses -synchysis: Interlocked word order -synesis: Agreement of words according to the sense, and not the grammatical form -synizesis: Pronunciation of two juxtaposed vowels or diphthongs as a single sound -synonymia: Use of two or more synonyms in the same clause or sentence -tautology: Redundancy due to superfluous qualification; saying the same thing twice -tmesis: Division of the elements of a compound word -zeugma: The using of one verb for two actions
TROPES: -allegory: Extended metaphor in which a story is told to illustrate an important attribute of the subject -alliteration: Repetition of the first consonant sound in a phrase. -allusion: Indirect reference to another work of literature or art -anacoenosis: Posing a question to an audience, often with the implication that it shares a common interest with the speaker -antanaclasis: A form of pun in which a word is repeated in two different senses -anthimeria: Substitution of one part of speech for another, often turning a noun into a verb anthropomorphism: Ascribing human characteristics to something that is not human, such as an animal or a god (see zoomorphism) -antimetabole: Repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed grammatical order -antiphrasis: Word or words used contradictory to their usual meaning, often with irony -antonomasia: Substitution of a phrase for a proper name or vice versa -aphorism: Tersely phrased statement of a truth or opinion, an adage -apophasis: Invoking an idea by denying its invocation -aporia: Deliberating with oneself, often with the use of rhetorical questions -apostrophe: Addressing a thing, an abstraction or a person not present -archaism: Use of an obsolete, archaic, word(a word used in olden language, e.g. Shakespeare's language) -auxesis: Form of hyperbole, in which a more important sounding word is used in place of a more descriptive term -catachresis: Mixed metaphor (sometimes used by design and sometimes a rhetorical fault) -circumlocution: "Talking around" a topic by substituting or adding words, as in euphemism or periphrasis -commiseration: Evoking pity in the audience -correctio: Linguistic device used for correcting one's mistakes, a form of which is epanorthosis -denominatio: Another word for metonymy -double negative: Grammar construction that can be used as an expression and it is the repetition of negative words -dysphemism: Substitution of a harsher, more offensive, or more disagreeable term for another. Opposite of euphemism -epanorthosis: Immediate and emphatic self-correction, often following a slip of the tongue -enumeratio: A form of amplification in which a subject is divided, detailing parts, causes, effects, or consequences to make a point more forcibly -epanados: Repetition in a sentence with a reversal of words. Example: The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath -erotema: Synonym for rhetorical question -euphemism: Substitution of a less offensive or more agreeable term for another -hermeneia: Repetition for the purpose of interpreting what has already been said -hyperbaton: Words that naturally belong together are separated from each other for emphasis or effect -hyperbole: Use of exaggerated terms for emphasis -hypophora: Answering one's own rhetorical question at length -hysteron proteron: Reversal of anticipated order of events; a form of hyperbaton -innuendo: Having a hidden meaning in a sentence that makes sense whether it is detected or not -invocation: Apostrophe to a god or muse -irony: Use of word in a way that conveys a meaning opposite to its usual meaning -kataphora: Repetition of a cohesive device at the end -litotes: Emphasizing the magnitude of a statement by denying its opposite -malapropism: Using a word through confusion with a word that sounds similar -meiosis: Use of understatement, usually to diminish the importance of something -merism: Statement of opposites to indicate reality -metalepsis: Referring to something through reference to another thing to which it is remotely related -metaphor: Stating one entity is another for the purpose of comparing them in quality -metonymy: Substitution of a word to suggest what is really meant -neologism: The use of a word or term that has recently been created, or has been in use for a short time. Opposite of archaism -onomatopoeia: Words that sound like their meaning -oxymoron: Using two terms together, that normally contradict each other -parable: Extended metaphor told as an anecdote to illustrate or teach a moral lesson -paradox: Use of apparently contradictory ideas to point out some underlying truth -paradiastole: Extenuating a vice in order to flatter or soothe -paraprosdokian: Phrase in which the latter part causes a rethinking or reframing of the beginning -parallel irony: An ironic juxtaposition of sentences or situations (informal) -paralipsis: Drawing attention to something while pretending to pass it over -paronomasia: A form of pun, in which words similar in sound but with different meanings are used -pathetic fallacy: Using a word that refers to a human action on something non-human -periphrasis: Using several words instead of few personification/prosopopoeia/anthropomorphism: Attributing or applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena -praeteritio: Another word for paralipsis -procatalepsis: Refuting anticipated objections as part of the main argument -prolepsis: Another word for procatalepsis -proslepsis: Extreme form of paralipsis in which the speaker provides great detail while feigning to pass over a topic -proverb: Succinct or pithy expression of what is commonly observed and believed to be true -pun: Play on words that will have two meanings -repetition: Repeated usage of word(s)/group of words in the same sentence to create a poetic/rhythmic effect -rhetorical question: Asking a question as a way of asserting something. Or asking a question not for the sake of getting an answer but for asserting something (or as in a poem for creating a poetic effect) -satire: Use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc. A literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule. A literary genre comprising such compositions -simile: Comparison between two things using like or as -snowclone: Quoted or misquoted cliché or phrasal template -superlative: Saying that something is the best of something or has the most of some quality, e.g. the ugliest, the most precious etc -syllepsis: Form of pun, in which a single word is used to modify two other words, with which it normally would have differing meanings -syncatabasis (condescension, accommodation): adaptation of style to the level of the audience -synecdoche: Form of metonymy, in which a part stands for the whole -synesthesia: Description of one kind of sense impression by using words that normally describe another. -tautology: Needless repetition of the same sense in different words Example: The children gathered in a round circle -transferred epithet: Placing of an adjective with what appears to be the incorrect noun -truism: a self-evident statement -zeugma: A figure of speech related to syllepsis, but different in that the word used as a modifier is not compatible with one of the two words it modifies -zoomorphism: Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods