Syntax Terms

Loose or cumulative sentence Has its main clause at the beginning of the sentence. Example: “Laughter broke out, enormous, almost hysterical, peal after peal, as though it would never stop.”

Periodic sentence Has its main clause at the end of the sentence. It forces the reader to retain information from the beginning of the sentence and often builds to a climactic statement with meaning unfolding slowly. Example: “Naked from throat to navel, their brown bodies painted with white lines, two Indians came running along the path.”

Balanced sentence Has phrases or clauses that balance each other by virtue of their likeness of structure, meaning, or length. Example: “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; he leadeth me beside still waters.”

Parallel Structure Parallel structure refers to a grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence. It involves an arrangement of words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs so that elements of equal importance are equally developed and similarly phrased. Example: “The Savage caught her by the wrists, tore her hands from his shoulders, thrust her roughly away at arm’s length.” If elements are sharply opposed, the effect is antithesis.

Antithesis Antithetical sentences contain two statements which are parallel, but opposite. Example: “But as I make the laws here, I can also break them.”

Juxtaposition A poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, often creating an effect of surprise and wit. Example: “Lying in bed, he would think of Heaven and London and Our Lady of Acoma and the rows and rows of babies in clear bottles and Jesus flying up and Linda flying up and the great Director of World hatcheries and Awonawilona.” Juxtaposition shows contrast – draws attention to dissimilar ideas or images

Omission Asyndeton is the deliberate omission of conjunctions in a series of related clauses; it speeds the pace of the sentence and calls attention to words or phrases in the sentence. ◦ Example: “Her relatives encouraged me; competitors piqued me; she allured me; a marriage was achieved almost before I knew where I was.” Ellipsis is the deliberate omission of a word or words which are readily implied by the context; it creates an elegant or daring economy of words. It also slows the reader. It is sometimes used in stream- of-consciousness technique. ◦ Example: “This room was chill, because it seldom had a fire; it was silent, because remote from the nursery and kitchens; solemn, because it was so seldom entered.”

Polysyndeton The use of too many conjunctions--slows the pace and sometimes gives the words a Biblical quality. Example: “When you are old and gray and full of sleep,/ And nodding by the fire, take down this book …”

Repetition A device in which words, sounds, and ideas are used more than once to enhance rhythm and to create emphasis. Example: “Not to mention the right to grow old and ugly and impotent; the right to have syphilis and cancer; the right to have too little to eat; the right to be lousy; the right to live in constant apprehension of what may happen tomorrow; the right to catch typhoid; the right to be tortured by unspeakable pains of every kind.”

Anaphora is the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses; it helps to establish a strong rhythm and produces a powerful emotional effect. Example: “What a face he had, now that it was almost on a level with mine! What a great nose! And what a mouth! And what large prominent teeth!”

Anadiplosis is the repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause; it ties the sentence to its surroundings. Example: “He then said that she was the daughter of a French opera-dancer, Celine Varens, towards whom he had once cherished what he called a ‘grand passion.’ This passion Celine had professed to return with even superior ardour.”

Epanalepsis is the repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause; it tends to make the sentence or clause in which it occurs stand apart from its surroundings. Example: Breakfast was over, and none had breakfasted.”

Epistrophe is the repetition of the same word or group of words at the ends of successive clauses; it sets up a pronounced rhythm and gains a special emphasis both by repeating the word and by putting the word in the final position. Example: “Genius is said to be self- conscious: I cannot tell whether Miss Ingram was a genius, but she was self-conscious— remarkably self-conscious indeed.”

Inversion Inverted order of a sentence (sentence inversion) involves constructing a sentence so that the predicate comes before the subject. ◦ Example: “The channel wound between precipitous banks, and slanting from one wall to the other across the valley ran a streak of green – the river and its fields.” This is a device in which typical sentence patterns are reversed to create an emphatic or rhythmic effect. Antimetabole/Chaismus is a sentence strategy in which the arrangement of ideas in the second clause is a reversal of the first; it adds power through its inverse repetition. ◦ Example: “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country.”

Rhetorical Question A rhetorical question is a question that requires no answer. It is used to draw attention to a point and is generally stronger than a direct statement. Example: “’I ought to have been there’, the young man went on. ‘Why wouldn’t they let me be the sacrifice? I’d have gone round ten times – twelve, fifteen.’”

Rhetorical Fragment is a sentence fragment used deliberately for a persuasive purpose or to create a desired effect. Example: “They could have had twice as much blood from me. The multitudinous seas incarnadine.

Punctuation Often a clue to meaning. Dashes separate ideas – results in a conversational and personal style. Colons – often what follows is not a list, but a restatement or further explanation of prior unit of meaning.