Syntactical Devices (Jennifer Chen)
Polysyndeton
Definition: Using conjunctions in
close succession, especially where
some would usually be omitted
Example: "For a time we stood
rooted in place, staring at the dead
man, and at the pool of gray water
he lay in, and at the gulls who
floated on the incoming swells just
offshore, watching our movements
with cold yellow eyes" (Lisle 19).
Anaphora
Definition: The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Example: "'We'll meet you at the beach,' Jeddy said. 'There's a pack of gulls down there getting at the body. We'll stand guard till you come'" (Lisle 22).
Epistrophe
Definition: The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Example: "But we've got to talk about it. That's the most interesting part, that they told us not to talk about it'" (Lisle 62).
Anadiplosis
Asyndeton
Example: "She changed the beds, swept the floors, hauled in coal for the stove" (Lisle 15).
Definition: Omission of conjunctions that ordinarily join words or clauses
Definition: Repetition of the final words of a sentence or line at the beginning of the next
Example: "'He didn't touch her, did he?' 'He tried, but she got out too fast'" (Lisle 74).
Epanalepsis
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Definition: Repetition after intervening words
Example: "Sometimes he did and sometimes he didn't" (Lisle 14).
Antithesis
Definition: A contrast or opposition between two things
Example: "Death was no more to them than a ready-made meal" (Lisle 19).