Make Cool Sounds and Rhythm
Figures that repeat words, move them around, or make delightful noises
These are the true figures of speech, because they change the voice; figures that change the mind are, technically, “figures of thought.”
alliteration
Beginning the first letter of succeeding words with the same letter, usually a consonant.
anadiplosis (an-a-di-PLO-sis)
The last-word first-word repetition.
Also see this.
anaphora (ann-AH-for-ah)
The first-word repeater.
Also see this. And this.
anastrophe (ann-ASS-tro- fee)
The poetic word-order switch.
Also see this.
antistasis (an-TIH-sta-sis)
The repeat that reverses a word’s meaning.
Also see this.
antistrophe (an-TIS-tro-fee)
The last-word repeater. Also known as epistrophe.
Also see this.
asyndeton (a-SYN-de-ton)
The conjunction skipper.
chiasmus (kee-AZZ-muss)
The criss-cross figure.
Also see this.
conduplicatio (con-du-pli-CAT-io)
Repeating words in different clauses to make a point.
Also see this.
diaphora (die-AH-for-ah)
Repetition that describes a character.
diazeugma (die-ah-ZOOG-ma)
The play-by-play figure.
Also see this.
dirimens copulatio (dear-ih-mens cop-u-LAT-ee-oh)
The but-wait-there’s-more figure.
Also see this.
epistrophe (e-PIS-tro-phee)
The end-word repeat. (Also known as antistrophe.)
hyperbaton (hie-PER-ba-ton)
The interrupter.
hypophora (hie-PAH-for-uh)
A figure that answers your own question. (What’s the secret to comedy? Timing!)
hysterologia (hys-ter-o-LO-gia)
The preposition interrupter.
hysteron proteron
The word-order swap.
idiom (ID-ee-om)
The figure of inseparable words.
isocolon (i-so-CO-lon)
The figure of similar clauses.
Also see this.
onomatopoeia (onna-motta-PEE-ah)
The noisemaker.
palilogia (pa-lih-LO- ja)
The emphatic repeater.
Also see this.
paroemion (pa-RO-mee-on)
Alliteration.
paromoiosis (pa-ro-moi-OH-sis)
Similar-sounding clauses laid side by side.
paronomasia (pa-ro-no-MAY-sia)
A pun that plays on words that sound or mean the same, but aren’t identical.
Also see this.
ploce (PLO-see)
The braided figure. It repeats a word with another word or two in between, usually with a different connotation.
polyptoton (po-LIP-to-ton)
The root repeater.
polysyndeton (polly-SIN-deh-ton)
The conjunction connector.
symploce (SIM-plo-see)
The first-and-last repeater. It repeats the same word at the beginning and the end of successive clauses.
Also see this.
tasis (TAY-sis)
The delectable figure.
traductio (trah-DOOK-tio)
A repetition that modifies a word.