Literary Devices

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What is a complex parallel sentence?

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Repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

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anaphora

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A type of parallelism in which the same word or phrase is repeated in (and usually at the beginning of) successive lines, clauses or sentences. Found often in both verse and prose.

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litote

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derived from a Greek word meaning “simple”, is a figure of speech which employs an understatement by using double negatives or, in other words, positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite expressions

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Balanced sentence - Two parallel elements are set off against each other. Options: “We observe today not a victory of party but a celebration of freedom,symbolizing an end as well as a beginning, signifying renewal as well as change.” (J.F. Kennedy’s 1961 speech), “Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, Iwas gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merestaccident, I had gained from my master” (20).

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“Whilst I was saddened by the thought of losing the aid of my kind mistress, Iwas gladdened by the invaluable instruction which, by the merestaccident, I had gained from my master” (20).

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Periodic Sentence - A long sentence comprised of several short balanced, dependent clauses ending with an independent clause that completes the idea.

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“My natural elasticity was crushed, my intellect languished, the disposition to read departed, the cheerful spark that lingered about my eye died; the dark night of slavery closed in upon me; and behold a man transformed into a brute!” (38).

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Loose sentence

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A sentence structure in which a main clause is followed by one or more coordinate or subordinate phrases and clauses

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Interrupted Sentence - The thought of a sentence is interrupted by evidence or details, usually set off by a dash (2 hyphens).

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Stops the reader – to show importance of added detail – before writer finishes his idea. Can emphasize length of list – it seems never ending – or the inevitability or inescapability of a situation.

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metonymy

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a word or phrase that is used to stand in for another word. Sometimes a metonymy is chosen because it is a well-known characteristic of the word.

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polysyndeton

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is a literary technique in which conjunctions (e.g. and, but, or) are used repeatedly in quick succession, often with no commas, even when the conjunctions could be removed.

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Euphemism

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Often in literature, whether for humor or just for taste, a writer wishes to describe some graphic or offensive event using milder imagery or phrasing.