Tropes & Schemes

Front 1

Trope: Pun

Back 1

the usually humorous use of a word in such a way as to suggest two or more of its meanings or the meaning of another word similar in sound

Ex) She's a skillful pilot whose career has—no pun intended—really taken off.

Front 2

Trope: Oxymoron

Back 2

a combination of contradictory or incongruous words (as cruel kindness); broadly : something (as a concept) that is made up of contradictory or incongruous elements

Ex) The girl used cruel kindness to get her revenge.

Front 3

Trope: Personification

Back 3

1 : attribution of personal qualities; especially : representation of a thing or abstraction as a person or by the human form
2 : a divinity or imaginary being representing a thing or abstraction
3 : embodiment, incarnation

Ex) My feet were barking, after a long day of shopping.

Front 4

Trope: Verbal Irony

Back 4

irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning.

Ex) Soft like a brick

Front 5

Trope: Simile

Back 5

a figure of speech comparing two unlike things that is often introduced by like or as (as in cheeks like roses) — compare metaphor

Ex) She had cheeks like roses.

Front 6

trope: Litotes

Back 6

ironical understatement in which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary

(e.g., you won't be sorry, meaning you'll be glad ).

Front 7

trope: Metaphor

Back 7

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

ex) The mind is a machine.

Front 8

trope: Rhetorical Question

Back 8

a figure of speech in the form of a question that is asked in order to make a point

ex) Who knows?

Front 9

trope: Hyperbole

Back 9

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.

ex) Your suitcase weighs a ton!

Front 10

trope: Paradox

Back 10

means contrary to expectations, existing belief or perceived opinion

ex) Truth is honey which is bitter.

Front 11

Scheme of Balance: Parallelism

Back 11

the use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. 

ex) Easy come, easy go.

Front 12

scheme of balance: Antithesis

Back 12

 a rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.

ex) Speech is silver, but silence is gold.

Front 13

scheme of balance: climax

Back 13

 refers to a literary device in which words, phrases and clauses are arranged in an order to increase their importance within the sentence

ex) "I Have a Dream”, a memorable address of Martin Luther King:

“This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable Rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Front 14

scheme of addition: Parenthesis

Back 14

a word, clause, or sentence inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage that is grammatically complete without it, in writing usually marked off by curved brackets, dashes, or commas

ex) We need an emergency room physician who can (1) think quickly, (2) treat patients respectfully, and (3) handle complaints from the public.

Front 15

scheme of addition: apposition

Back 15

a relationship between two or more words or phrases in which the two units are grammatically parallel and have the same referent

(e.g., my friend Sue

Front 16

scheme of omission: asyndenton

Back 16

the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence.

ex) " IAGO
Call up her father.
Rouse him. Make after him, Poison his delight,
Proclaim him in the streets. Incense her kinsmen,
And, though he in a fertile climate dwell,

(Othello by William Shakespeare)"

Front 17

scheme of omission: polysyndenton

Back 17

a stylistic device in which several coordinating conjunctions are used in succession in order to achieve an artistic effect

ex) "And Joshua, and all of Israel with him, took Achan the son of Zerah, and the silver, and the garment, and the wedge of gold, and his sons, and his daughters, and his oxen, and his asses, and his sheep, and his tent, and all that he had.” (The Bible)

Front 18

scheme of repetition: Anaphora

Back 18

the use of a word referring to or replacing a word used earlier in a sentence, to avoid repetition, such as do in I like it and so do they.

ex) “Every day, every night, in every way, I am getting better and better”