Syntactical Devices
Anadiplosis
Repetition of the words of a sentence or line at the beginning of the next.
Anaphora
The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses.
"Her coat and hat hung on a hook in the hall, as if she'd only stepped out for a moment. Her wedding china was on display in the parlor cabinet. Her sheet music sat on the piano." (Lisle 14)
Antithesis
A contrast or opposition between two things.
"Above, swathed in a shawl of brown seaweed, a rubbery-looking shoulder peaked out, white as a girl." (Lisle 17)
"'I might,' he answered. 'And then again, we may never know exactly.' 'Exactly what?'" (Lisle 33)
Asyndeton
Omission of conjunctions that ordinarily join words or clauses.
Epanalepsis
Repetition after intervening words.
"Yes sir! I wasn't in it. You weren't? David frowns I heard you were. I wasn't." (Lisle 5)
Epistrophe
"Had adventures. What adventures?" (Lisle 7).
The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences.
Polysyndeton
Using conjunctions in close succession especially where some would usually be omitted.
"The word went around that he brought bad luck on board a boat, and even when is face healed, no one wanted to hire him. Then his wife left him for another man, and he was forced to sell his house. And so he had retreated, alone, far out on the point, to a shack that had once housed hens by the side of a salt pond." (Lisle 67).
"...gardens plowed, hedges pruned, lawns seeded." (Lisle 39)