rhetorical and stylistic devices + topos

X...….. X...…..

...…..X ...…..X

...…..X X...…..

X...…..X

X,X,X

X...,X...,X...

Repetition of same words, each time with a different meaning (ex: Put out the ligtht, and then put out the ligth)

Using the same grammatical ending, rhyme in prose (ex: she cried and died)

Using words with the same roots (ex: strong, strength)

Using words, clauses or sentences without conjunctions -> absence of conjonctions

Repetition of conjunctions, introducing coordinate clauses or phrases (ex: I walked the dog, and fed the cat, and milked the cows)

Coming back on what one just said to correct yourself or add emphasis (ex: a hundred, no, a thousand!)

Using conjunctions such as "like" or "as" to make a direct comparison between two very different things.

Implied comparison between two things

When a metaphor is continued for some time in a written work

A far-fetched controlling / fundamental based on wit

Replacing an object or notion by related object or notion (relation of cause and effect or contiguity)

A kind of metonymy when a whole is represented by naming one of its parts, or vice versa

Saying the contrary of what you mean

Putting contrasting words, clauses or ideas together

Claiming something by denying the opposite (ex: He told me "not bad", but he meant "good")

Juxtaposition of two contradictory terms (ex: black sun)

Downplaying something, presenting it as less significant than it is (ex: We have to let you go, Tyler. --> To “let someone go” is to fire someone)

A deliberate exaggeration

A word - usually an epithet is associated with a different noum that you would expect (ex: the solitary quilt)

Risqué, possibly bawdy meaning (ex: he is really good with his hand)

An insinuation that can be disparaging or sexual / when you say something which is polite and innocent on the surface, but indirectly hints at an insult or rude comment, a dirty joke, or even social or political criticism

Reverse parallelism : a grammatical construction where the second ppart is the mirror inversion of the first part (ABBA) ex:Don’t sweat the petty things, and don’t pet the sweaty

Sentence construction wich places equal grammatical constructions near other, or repeats identical grammatical patterns (ex: That’s one step for man, one giant leap for mankind)

Change in the expected word order / the typical, natural order of words is changed as certain words are moved out of order (ex: Tender is the night / Sweet, she was. / He was as he was strange, insane, confusing and complained! Piece of what an interesting fellow I met and said hello.)

Succession of phrases or clauses of equal length ans structure (ex: I came, I saw, I laughed)

Following the format there + be/ exist... + topical subject

Sharp dialogue with quick, parallel answers / Stichomythia is particularly well suited to sections of dramatic dialogue where two characters are in violent dispute. The rhythmic intensity of the alternating lines combined with quick, biting ripostes in the dialogue can be quite powerful

Using a common noum or periphrasis instead of a proper name, or the opposite (ex: the city that never sleeps / “The Boy Who Lived” for Harry Potter.)

An old-fashioned word or phrase

Addressing a specific person or object

Indirect, circulocutory speech or writing (ex: the elongated yellow fruit)

Invented words

When various sensory impressions mix and merge --> smelling colors, seeing sounds (ex: Her voice was as smooth as pudding. / The scent of smoke burned my skin.)

Attributing animate qualities to concepts and objects (ex: The tired old car coughed and weezed and crawled down the street.)

Giving speech to a dead person, an animal, a tree, an object

A hypotyposis is a vivid, detailed, and often dramatic description that makes a scene, action, or object feel as if it is present before the reader’s eyes. Its goal is to produce a strong visual impression ->like turning language into a painting

Describing a work of art very vividly

An anacoluthon is a break in the grammatical structure of a sentence. The sentence begins in one syntactic pattern and unexpectedly shifts to another, creating a rupture in logical or grammatical continuity.

Suddenly interrupting a sentence, leaving it incomplete (ex: I’m so angry, I could– I could–!)

One word used once but applied to two or more parts of the sentence, while changing meaning or functioning grammatically differently for each

List of various elements closely put together (ex: This landscape was chaos: rocks, dust, broken branches, shadows)

Stating an irresolvable contradiction or logical disjunction in a text or an argument / which a speaker expresses doubt, real or feigned, about what to think, what to say, or how to proceed. The doubt may be genuine (philosophical) or strategic (rhetorical)

Enumeration folowing a particular order --> increasing or decreasing

When a speaker asks a question and immediately answers it.

A logical inconsistency where a conclusion does not logically follow from the premises or preceding statements (ex:She has a nice smile, so she must be good at math)

Speakingof something while saying won't talk about it (ex: I won’t even mention his constant lateness and his messy work…)

A series of questions

Use of different words that sound similar (ex:In the silence of the night, the knight awaited dawn)

Repetition of the same consonants (ex: "Sally sells sea shells by the sea shore")

Repetition of the same vowel sound (ex: "From the molten-golden notes")

Flashback

Flash forward

Elision of something you would expect (ex: He ordered the steak; she, the salad. / I came, I saw, I conquered.

It is a story, image, or description in which characters, events, or objects represent abstract ideas, moral concepts, or political/social messages. It is a sustained metapho / It is a story within a story

a secondary self / almost always a second identity or life that is being hidden from a person or character’s friends, family, and others around them

a short story or fable which provides a simple moral lesson / "une petite histoire divertissante avec une portée morale"

Also known as a “coming-of-age story”, a tale in which the main character transforms from child to adult

a style in literature and drama that mocks or imitates a subject by representing it in an ironic or ludicrous way; resulting in comedy. It is a form of the literary genre, satire.

Or climax is the point of highest tension in a narrative; it’s the most exciting and revealing part of a story. It leads the rising action into the falling action before a story is resolved and reaches the conclusion.

the sentence that introduces the main argument or point of view of a composition (formal essay, nonfiction piece, or narrative)

Latin for “a god from the machine.” It’s when some new character, force, or event suddenly shows up to solve a seemingly hopeless situation

comes from a German word meaning “double-walker.” It’s a twin or double of some character, usually in the form of an evil twin