Isocolon

Techniques > Use of language > Figures of speech > Isocolon

Method | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Isocolon occurs where parallel parts of a sentence are the same length.

Example

Veni, vidi, vici. (I came, I saw, I conquered)

I converse with God, I hear the Devil, I choose myself, I act alone.

Remember the past but look to the future.

Discussion

Repetition of any pattern of sounds gives a statement a beat, thus playing to the mind's ability to recognize and pay attention to patterns and appreciate harmony. Isocolon uses this aspect to give power to words.

Where there are three items, this is known as tricolon.

Isocolon comes from the Greek 'iso', meaning 'same', and 'kolon', meaning member.

Classification: Repetition