| A | B |
|---|
| parallelism | the use of similar structures in two or more clauses |
| parallelism example | I began to look for rhetorical devices in books, in movies and in songs |
| isocolon | the use of parallel elements similar not only in structure, but also in length |
| isocolon example | Many will enter. Few will win. |
| chiasmum | the grammatical structure of the first clause or phrase is reversed in the second |
| chiasmus example | Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country. |
| antithesis | the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas |
| antithesis example | to err is human; to forgive divine. |
| climax | the arrangement of words in order of importance or power |
| climax example | I spent the day cleaning my house, reading poetry, and putting my life in order |
| anticlimax | the arrangement of words in order of decreasing importance or power |
| anticlimax example | Die and endow a college or a cat. |
| paraprosdokian | the latter part of a phrase is surprising in a way that causes the reader to reframe the first part |
| paraprosdokian example | Where ther's a will, I want to be in it. |
