What is the stylistic device used in this poem?

Question

I am not sure if there is a kind of stylistic device in below poem sentence.

The king’s horses are purebloods, his barns cut stone; roans, blacks, dapples, bays; the granite reds, greys, blues.

If I understand correctly, the "normal" sequence should be:

The king’s horses are purebloods, roans, blacks, dapples, bays; his barns cut stone, the granite reds, greys, blues.

Is there a name/term for this in poetry?

homework questions are against the rules here. Take it up with principles. — Anderson Silva, Jan 19 '11 at 13:33
Ha, it looks like, but it is not. I just want to know what it is called in English ~ — gerry, Jan 19 '11 at 13:39
@gerry: You could be a little more gracious in asking for help. — Robusto, Jan 19 '11 at 14:13
@Rhodri: Yeah. I have checked common stylistic devices, but they all seems different things. Some more famous example may help. But I can't find. — gerry, Jan 19 '11 at 14:44

score 2 · Accepted Answer · answered Jan 19 '11 at 18:22

2

It may be "synchysis". The sources do not entirely agree. Wikipedia and ChangingMindes both give a definition (unreferenced, unfortunately) which is exactly what you are asking, but rhetoric.byu has a more general definition.

(I've never come across the word before, so thanks for asking!)

answered Jan 19 '11 at 18:22

Colin Fine

77,173

Great! It really is ~ You and your answer, kind and helpful. – gerry Jan 19 '11 at 23:36

score 0 · Answer 2 · answered Jan 19 '11 at 13:51

0

You may be thinking of parataxis. Or you may simply be thinking of a grammatical series.

answered Jan 19 '11 at 13:51

Robusto

151,571

This is not what I am looking for. The question is updated now – gerry Jan 19 '11 at 14:05
@gerry: Do you mean subordinate clauses filled with lists, all relating back to an initial subject? – Robusto Jan 19 '11 at 14:12
Yes. I think they are parts of previous sentences, are drawn by the author to impress colors. I don't know if it is common enough to have a name or just specific simplified clauses . – gerry Jan 19 '11 at 14:37

What is the stylistic device used in this poem?

2 Answers2