Syntax
Analogy – A direct comparison to another relationship, to show the similarities in between the two, often to explain in a creative manner.
Example: “Which is not to say that a really good horror movie may not surprise a scream out of us at some point, the way we may scream when the roller coaster twists through a complete 360...” Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies.
Function: The analogy between the horror movie and a roller coaster gives a more tangible and interesting spin to the explanation. It's hard to explain the effect of a horror movie, but using an analogy to a roller coaster lets the reader think of a feeling that they have had, a feeling that is more memorable and vivid in their mind.
Long Sentence – A sentence, not only with many words, but many clauses, FANBOYs, and other phrases that elongate the length of the sentence.
Example: “He went down more slowly than any fighter had ever gone down, he went down like a large ship which turns on end and slides second by second into its grave.” Norman Mailer, The Death of Benny Paret.
Function: The long sentence emphasizes the slow death of Paret. The subtle structure of the long sentence makes it seem to drag on, the way that Paret gradually fell to the floor. By exaggerating the length of a sentence it seems that the death was longer too, and technique commonly used for slow actions or scenes.
Short Sentence – Also known as a staccato sentence, a short sentence is very brief, and sometimes, an incomplete sentence, such as a fragment. They are meant to draw the reader's attention to themselves and stand out, often in a list of long or medium sentences that emphasize the effect of the change in sentence length. Like this one.
Example: “Men ages 18 to 25 are eligible to be drafted into the military during times of war. Only men.” Daily Illini, Including Women In The Draft.
Function: The effect of the short sentence is that it draws attention to itself. It emphasizes what was said in the paragraph above and echoes what was said before. Otherwise readers might just skim over that idea about the men exclusively being drafted. The short sentence insures that readers pick up on that concept.
Periodic Sentence – A sentence that is incomplete, grammatically, until the very end, which may contain the final independent clause that finishes the sentence.
Example: “If your insanity leads you to card up women like the Jack the Ripper of the Cleveland Torso Murderer, we clap you away in the funny farm.” Stephen King, We We Crave Horror Movies.
Function: The buildup of a long clause before the sentence can be grammatical complete makes it more climatic. Often it is description of the noun finally revealed at the end. The culmination of the rest of the sentence weighs more importance on the last bit that makes it complete.
Inverted Sentence – Also known as “Yoda talk,” inverted sentences do not follow the normal grammatical sentence structure. The different parts of sentences are rearranged so that they are correct grammatically, but they don't sound like the norm.
Example: “Ultimately, just as Rose's enthusiasm made those watching him more enthusiastic about baseball, so did his obstinacy make those other just as stubborn about giving in to him.” Frank DeFord, Sports Illustrated.
Function: Because “ultimately” was pulled to the front of the sentence, it switches up the sentence style, and draws the attention with sentence variety. Using sentences sparingly, like this one, accents and emphasizes the inverted portions, in this case “ultimately.”
Isocolon – A form of parallelism where the paralleled phrases are very close in structure and length.
Example: “We shall pay nay price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure...” John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Inaugural Address.”
Function: The even and steady parallelism creates a beat, which leads the speech and keeps it going. It contains all the effects of normal parallelism, but also is very exact and the precision gives the words even more of a meter and makes them almost musical.
Antithesis – A type of parallelism where the two (or more) phrases in parallel are compared, and their differences are pointed out, instead of their similarities.
Example: “Too hot to stop, too cool to feel.” Lisa Low, Ridding Ourselves of Macbeth.
Function: The antithesis shows that Macbeth (who they're referring to) is different than Shakespeare's other characters, and uses an antithesis to show that he doesn't display normal characteristics that the other characters do. It's a creative way to say he's different than the others, but this way is more entertaining.
Anaphora – The counterpart to epistrophe, anaphora is a form of parallelism where the first word(s) of each paralleled phrase are the same. The rest of the paralleled phrase do not have to be the same.
Example: “For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Inaugural Address.”
Function: The anaphora gives a more exact form than if it was just regular parallelism. Although this also antithesis, it gives anticipation to find out how the second phrase ends, because the listener knows it will have to be different from the first.
Epistrophe – The counterpart to anaphora, an epistrophe is the repetition of the last word(s) in a paralleled phrase. The first part of the paralleled phrase does not have to be the same.
Example: “By science engulf all humanity in planned self-destruction or accidental self-destruction.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Inaugural Address.”
Function: Although the function of epistrophe is similar to that of anaphora, it is less common and because it can seem redundant. Using the same adjective for two nouns, but saying them each time looks tacky, so it's not as common as just using the adjective once for both of the nouns (a zeugma).
Chiasmus – Sometimes called “inverted parallelism,” it is the use of two inverted clauses in parallel. To be inverted, the clauses must follow the form (first one) A B and (the second) B A.
Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you: ask what you can do for your country.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Inaugural Address.”
Function: The switch of the sentence is always a creative way to express an idea. This makes the audience think about what was just said. Because they can hard to create and thus, there are less of them than other syntax strategies, they can become well known or common phrases (like this or “If we outlaw guns, only the outlaws will have guns”).
Anadiplosis – A form of word repetition in which the last word of each phrase is the same as the first word of the next phrase.
Example: “Except for husbands murdering wives, wives murdering husbands...” Mike Royko, “If We're Gonna Have Guns, Let's Get 'em Out in the Open.”
Function: The main use of anadiplosis is the continuity that results from starting the next phrase the same way the last phrase ended. It makes for a successful, reliable transition between the two (or in other cases, more) phrases. Also, it can be useful in a long list in order to show a cause and effect relationship.
Asyndeton – The reverse of polysyndeton, it is the use of only commas in a list, and no conjunctions anywhere.
Example: “We will not tire, we will not falter, we will not fail.” George Bush, “September 11th speech.”
Function: In a list, including a conjunction can make the last in the list stand out more. With an asyndeton, this makes all the items in the list of more equal value. It also makes the list flow more smoothly. In this example it has also been paired with anaphora and isocolon.
Polysyndeton – The reverse of asyndeton, In any type of list, polysyndeton is the use of conjunctions between every phrase, word, or clause. Instead of using commas, conjunctions are used in their place.
Example: “Help them to crush the foe, grant to them and to their flag and county imperishable honor and glory...” Mark Twain, The War Prayer.
Function: The repetition of excessive conjunctions makes the list seem longer and all the items in the list are more equal in value. Normally when there is just the last item that gets a conjunction, it gets different treatment, but with all the conjunctions, they become balanced.
Rhetorical Question – A question not meant to be answered. The author does not want the reader to actually answer the question.
Example: “Should we trust these 'officials'? I'll let you decide for yourself what the answer is (NO).” Dave Barry, High-Tech Twinkie War Will Be No Picnic.
Function: Rhetorical questions aren't supposed to be answered, and sometimes they are asked, even though both the reader and the author know the answer. Dave Barry took a different spin with this and even though he said to make you own decision, he fed you the one he meant you to have.
Zeugma – Using one subject with multiple verbs; using a verb with multiple direct objects; multiple subjects for one verb. There are more forms of it, but in essence it has one grammatical aspect of the sentence have multiple other parts it directly connects to.
Example: “It took two hours and two police officers to sort it out...” Dave Barry, The Funny Side of “Beowulf”.
Function: It is interesting to show that two completely different direct objects can have the same verb, one which is people, the other is an intangible concept: time. The interesting effect of the differences between the two direct objects, yet related, can make you laugh or ponder over the sentence.
Polyptoton – The repetition of word in any form in the same sentence.
Example: “We share with him the uncomfortable felling that what must be done must be done and that what has been done cannot be undone.” Lisa Low, Ridding Ourselves of Macbeth.
Function: The repetition of “done” as a polyptoton makes the reader take another look at the sentence, because at first it could be confusing. There is a combination of two common phrases “what must be done must be done” and “what has been done cannot be undone” which have been placed together to make an interesting way of presenting two separate ideas.
Dashes – Dashes break up writing. They give a pause to emphasize a clause the same way that parenthesizes do – but in a stronger way.
Example: “This much we pledge – and more.” John Fitzgerald Kennedy, “Inaugural Address.”
Function: Although this is a speech, it was decided that the pause would be dashes, because no other punctuation would fit properly. The pause right there gives the lingering effect that he is not done, and that leaves room for more to come. The effect is added to because the two clauses are short and concise. They have the bonus effect that short staccato sentences combined with the pause.
