Personification
Definition: The attribution of human nature or character to animals, inanimate objects or abstract notions.
Examples The blizzard swallowed the town. The fire ran wild.
Polysyndeton
Definition: the use of several conjunctions in close succession, especially where some might be omitted.
to create a sense of being overwhelmed or in fact directly overwhelm the audience by using conjunctions, rather than commas, leaving little room for a reader to breathe.
ExamplesHe ran and jumped and laughed for joy.Marge and Susan and Ann and Daisy and Barry all
plan to go for a picnic.
Pun
Definition: A joke making a play on words
Examples I wondered why the
baseball was getting bigger. And then it hit me.
I’m glad I know sign language. It’s pretty handy.
Rhetorical Question
Definition: Any question asked for a purpose other than to obtain the information asked
Asked merely for effect or to make a point – implies an answer too obvious to require a reply
ExamplesWhy me?Are you kidding me?But who’s counting?
Syntax
Definition: The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language
ExamplesGood Syntax: The clever young girl adeptly
tripped the burglar in the hallway before he could turn on the light.
Bad Syntax: The burglar was tripped by the girl.
Zeugma
Definition: a figure of speech where a word applies to multiple parts of the sentence.
Examples "She opened her door and her heart to the
orphan." “The disgruntled employee took his coat and
his vacation.”
Polysyndeton
“The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions forgotten on the spot and enthusiastic meetings between women who never knew each other’s names.”