Rhetorical Devices

repetition of sounds at the beginning of a word

• simile
• metaphor
• alliteration
• rhyme

harsh, discordant sounds

• euphony

• alliteration

• cacophony
• assonance

repetition of similar words/phrases/ideas to represent that the ideas are of equal or higher value & importance

• comparison
• repetition
• parallelism
• juxtaposition

words are repeated in reverse order

• chiasmus

• isocolon

• antithesis

• parallelism

opposition or contrast of ideas/words in a balanced or parallel structure

• Antithesis
• Simile
• Paradox
• Synthesis

an event/conclusion/statement that is less powerful than built up

• Isocolon

• Climax
• Chiasmus

• Anticlimax

a sentence/phrase in which the second half is surprising and causes one to rethink the first half

• paraprosdokian

• juxtaposition

• climax

• anticlimax

repetition of the first word/phrase in successive sentences

• Epistrophe
• Metaphor
• Alliteration
• Anaphora

repetition of a word/phrase at the end of a phrase/sentence

• alliteration
• epistrophe
• anaphora
• metonymy

repetition of a word/phrase at regular intervals; a sentence starts & ends with the same word

• anaphora
• epistrophe

• assonance
• epanalepsis