Figures of Speech and Syntactic Construction Resources

Posted on Oct 5, 2024 in Language

Figures of Thought

  • Paradox: Seemingly contradictory concepts that reveal a profound truth.
  • Oxymoron: Two contradictory terms used to highlight a message.
  • Antithesis: Contrasts two opposing ideas.
  • Simile: Compares two objects or events to expand meaning.
  • Apostrophe: Addresses a person, thing, or abstraction with emotion.
  • Euphemism: Substitutes a harsh word with a softer one.
  • Personification: Gives human qualities to inanimate objects.
  • Hyperbole: Exaggerates an assessment.
  • Rhetorical Question: A question asked for emphasis, not an answer.
  • Interjection: Expresses strong emotion.
  • Irony: Expresses the opposite of what is said.
  • Imprecation: A strong desire for someone’s misfortune.
  • Epithet: An adjective highlighting a noun’s quality.

Syntactic Construction Resources

  • Ellipsis: Omitting words for emphasis.
  • Anadiplosis: Repeating a word at the end of one phrase and the beginning of the next.
  • Parallelism: Repeating a sentence or word with variations.
  • Enjambment: Separating parts of a phrase in poetry.
  • Anaphora: Repeating words at the beginning of phrases.
  • Epiphora: Repeating words at the end of phrases.
  • Enumeration: Presenting ideas in a logical sequence.
  • Asyndeton: Eliminating conjunctions for a faster pace.
  • Polysyndeton: Using more conjunctions than necessary for a prolonged effect.
  • Gradation: Listing items in order of importance.
  • Epanadiplosis: Repeating a word at the beginning and end of a phrase.
  • Hyperbaton: Changing word order for emphasis.

Phonetic Resources (Figures of Speech)

  • Onomatopoeia: Imitating real sounds.
  • Metathesis: Changing the position of sounds within a word.
  • Prosthesis: Adding a sound to the beginning of a word.
  • Paronomasia: Using words that sound alike.
  • Alliteration: Repeating a letter or syllable.

Tropes

  • Allegory: An extended metaphor.
  • Metaphor: Designating an object with another name based on association.
  • Metonymy: Referring to something by a related name.
  • Synecdoche: Referring to a part as a whole.