Figures of order
The following figures name the means by which sounds, letters, words, or ideas can be artfully ordered and arranged for effect.
The idea of achieving the most effective order for an entire speech is emphasized in the second canon of rhetoric, arrangement, and particularly when considering the partitio (division or outline) of a speech. Some of the figures below pertain to ordering an entire discourse, including certain figures of division and digression. Similarly, some figures, though not pertaining necessarily to parts of an oration, concern the artful ordering of concepts. Most of the following figures are for arranging rhetorical effects through manipulating word order. Some concern the rearrangement of letters within words. Finally, some of the figures of order are considered to be vices.
Figures ordering parts of a speech, or ordering concepts
Eutrepismus -Numbering and ordering the parts under consideration, such as using numbered paragraphs.
Enumeratio- this is where you divide a subject into its adjuncts, a cause into its effects, or an antecedent into its consequents.
Taxis-to divide a subject up into its various components or attributes. (very commonly done in law)
Merismus-The dividing of a whole into its parts (again, very common in legal arguments).
Parallelism- this involves similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
Parecbasis-digressing from the logical order of a speech.
Chiasmus- repetition of ideas in inverted order. You might use this when cross examining a witness who you believed to be lying, as most people struggle to maintain a lie if the chronological order of the lie is changed. See also:
Hysteron proteron- ordering out of chronology.
Catacosmesis (ordo)-ordering words from greatest to least in dignity, or in correct order of time.(during EIC for example)
Synthesis-an apt arrangement of a composition.
Figures altering the order of words
Hyperbaton- the inversion of normal word order. A general term.
Anastrophe-departure from normal word order
Antimetabole -Repetition of words in reverse grammatical order.
Acrostic-this involves ordering words in successive lines so their first letters spell something or follow alphabetical order.(if you manage to do this in court I will be severely impressed! On second thoughts - don't bother)
Climax-the arrangement of words, phrases, or clauses in an order of increasing importance
Catacosmesis-ordering words from greatest to least in dignity, or in correct order of time. (as in during EIC for example)
Hypallage-shifting the application of words. Mixing the order of which words should correspond with which others.
Hysterologia-interrupting the order of a preposition and its object with an inserted phrase.
Parenthesis-insertion of a verbal unit that interrupts normal syntactical order. Can use parenthesis to comment on what has just been said.
Parallelism-similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.
Figures altering the order of letters within words
Tmesis- this involves interjecting a word or phrase between parts of a compound word or between syllables of a word.
Metathesis involves the transposition of letters within a word
Figures of Disorder (Vices) - To be avoided
Cacosyntheton- this involves the incorrect or unpleasant ordering of words
Synchysis is the confused arrangement of words in a sentence. Hyperbaton or anastrophe taken to an obscuring extreme, either accidentally or purposefully.
Hysterologia-interrupting the order of a preposition and its object with an inserted phrase
See Also
Figures of Division
Most of the figures of division provide some kind of ordering.
Figures of Reasoning
These figures create or suggest a sense of cohesion or orderliness within discourse.
Acknowledgement
The above information on individual rhetorical techniques is reproduced from the website “Silva Rhetoricae” (www.rhetoric.byu.edu ) under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Credit for this content lies with Professor Gideon O Burton of Brigham Young University.