Rhetorical Devices
Rhetoric
Detect rhetorical devices — anaphora, epistrophe, and Free Indirect Discourse.
What It Does
Identifies three rhetorical techniques in prose:
- Anaphora — consecutive sentences or clauses beginning with the same word or phrase
- Epistrophe — consecutive sentences or clauses ending with the same word or phrase
- Free Indirect Discourse (FID) — narration that blends the narrator's voice with a character's thoughts, without explicit "she thought" tags
Why It Matters
Rhetorical devices are tools, not errors. Anaphora ("I have a dream… I have a dream…") creates emphasis through repetition. Epistrophe ("government of the people, by the people, for the people") creates rhythmic closure. Free Indirect Discourse creates intimacy by letting the reader hear a character's inner voice through the narration. This analyzer highlights these devices as information, not warnings — so you know when you're using them and can ensure they're intentional.
What Gets Flagged
Anaphora
Severity: Information
Example (flagged):
Rhetoric: anaphora detected — "Every" begins 3 consecutive sentences
Input:
Every window was dark. Every door was locked. Every path led nowhere.
Epistrophe
Severity: Information
Example (flagged):
Rhetoric: epistrophe detected — "again" ends 3 consecutive sentences
Input:
She lied again. He believed her again. They started over again.
Free Indirect Discourse
Severity: Information
Example (flagged):
Rhetoric: possible Free Indirect Discourse — character voice blending into narration
Input (third-person narration with character's inner voice):
She stared at the letter. What was she supposed to do now? Just pretend everything was fine?
Why FID matters: The questions in the example are the character's thoughts, but they're not attributed with "she thought." This blending is intentional FID — one of the most sophisticated narrative techniques. The analyzer flags it so you can verify you're using it consistently.
Configuration
No configuration options.
Technical Details
- Source:
prose-craft - Scope: Line-level (consecutive sentence analysis)
- Method: First/last word comparison for anaphora/epistrophe; pattern detection (third-person context + unattributed questions/exclamations) for FID