Scheme

In linguistics, scheme is a figure of speech that changes the normal arrangement of words in a sentence's structure. A good example of a playwright who is notorious for his use of schemes and tropes is William Shakespeare (Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Julius Caesar).

Structures of Balance

• Parallelism - The use of similar structures in two or more clauses
  • Isocolon - Use of parallel structures of the same length in successive clauses
  • Tricolon - Use of three parallel structures of the same length in independent clauses and of increasing power
• Antithesis - The juxtaposition of opposing or contrasting ideas
• Climax- The arrangement of words in order of increasing importance

Changes in Word Order

• Anastrophe - Inversion of the usual word order
• Parenthesis - Insertion of a clause or sentence in a place where it interrupts the natural flow of the sentence
• Apposition - The placing of two elements side by side, in which the second defines the first

Omission

• Ellipsis - Omission of words
• Asyndeton - Omission of conjunctions between related clauses
• Brachylogia - Omission of conjunctions between a series of words

Repetition

• Alliteration - A series of words that begin with the same letter or sound alike
• Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds, most commonly within a short passage of verse
• Polyptoton - Repetition of words derived from the same root
• Antanaclasis - Repetition of a word in two different senses
• Anaphora - The repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses
• Consonance - The repetition of consonant sounds without the repetition of the vowel sounds
• Epistrophe - The counterpart of anaphora
• Symploce - Combination of anaphora and epistrophe
• Epanalepsis - Repetition of the initial word or words of a clause or sentence at the end of the clause or sentence
• Anadiplosis - Repetition of a word at the end of a clause at the beginning of another
• Climax - Repetition of the scheme anadiplosis at least three times, with the elements arranged in an order of increasing importance
• Antimetabole - Repetition of words in successive clauses, in reverse order
• Chiasmus - Reversal of grammatical structures in successive clauses
• Polysyndeton - Repetition of conjunctions

See also

• Trope (linguistics)

External links

• Schemes from Silva Rhetoricae