Another type of semantically complicated parallelism is presented by climax

(gradation), in which each next word combination (clause, sentence) is logically more important
or emotionally stronger and more explicit: "Better to borrow, better to beg, better to die!" (D.) "I
am firm, thou art obstinate, he is pig-headed." (B.Ch.) If to create antithesis we use antonyms (or
their contextual equivalents), in climax we deal with strings of synonyms or at least semantically
related words belonging to the same thematic group.
The negative form of the structures participating in the formation of climax reverses the
order in which climax-components are used, as in the following examples: "No tree, no shrub, no
blade of grass that was not owned." (G.) It is the absence of substance or quality that is being
emphasized by the negative form of the climax, this is why relative synonyms are arranged not in
the ascending but in the descending order as to the expressed quality or quantity. Cf.: "Be
careful," said Mr. Jingle. "Not a look." "Not a wink," said Mr. Tupman. "Not a syllable. Not a
whisper." (D.)
Proceeding from the nature of the emphasized phenomenon it is possible to speak of
logical, emotional or quantitative types of climax.
Main types of climax
1) quantitative, when it is quality or size that increases with the unfolding of the
utterance:
“They looked at hundreds of houses, they climbed thousands of stairs, they inspected
innumerable kitchens”(Maugham).
Here the climax is achieved by simple numerical increase. In the following example climax
is materialized by setting side by side concepts of measure and time:
"Little by little, bit by bit, and day by day, and year by year the baron got the worst of some
disputed question." (Dickens)

2) emotional, when intensification is achieved through the introduction of emphatic

words into the utterance, and this fact increases its emotive force:  
- It was a lovely city, a beautiful city, a fair city, a veritable gem of a city.
- He was pleased when the child began to adventure across $ floors on hand and knees; he was
gratified, when she managed the trick of balancing herself on two legs; he was delighted when
she first said 'ta-ta'; and he was rejoiced when she recognized him and smiled at him." (Alan
Paton)
- Your son is very ill — seriously ill — desperately ill.

3) logical, the most frequent type, in which every new concept is stronger, more
important and valid:
Every succeeding concept is logically more important than the previous one: 
- Threaten him, imprison him, torture him, kill him; you will not induce him to betray his
country.
- Better to borrow, better  to  beg, better to die! (Ch.Dickens)

The most widely spread model of climax is a three-step construction, in which

intensification of logical importance, of emotion or quantity (size, dimensions) is gradually
rising step by step. In emotional climax though, we rather often meet a two-step structure, in
which the second part repeats the first one and is further strengthened by an intensifier, as in the
following instances: "He was so helpless, so very helpless." (W.D.) "She felt better, immensely
better." (W.D.) "I have been so unhappy here, so very very unhappy." (D.)
Climax suddenly interrupted by an unexpected turn of the thought which defeats
expectations of the reader (listener) and ends in complete semantic reversal of the emphasized
idea, is called anticlimax.
To stress the abruptness of the change emphatic punctuation (dash, most often) is used
between the ascending and the descending parts of the anticlimax.
Anticlimax is a SD that can be defined as a disappointing situation, or a
sudden transition in discourse from an important idea to a ludicrous or trivial one. It is when, at a
specific point, expectations are raised, everything is built-up, and then suddenly something
boring or disappointing happens — this is an anti-climax.
 "The holy passion of Friendship is of so sweet and steady and loyal and enduring a
nature that it will last through a whole lifetime, if not asked to lend money." - Mark
Twain.
 "Not only is there no God, but try getting a plumber on weekends." - Woody Allen.
 "And as I'm sinkin' The last thing that I think is, did I pay my rent?" (Jim O'Rourke,
Ghost Ship in a Storm)
 "In moments of crisis I size up the situation in a flash, set my teeth, contract my
muscles, take a firm grip on myself and without a tremor, always do the wrong
thing." (George Bernard Shaw)
 The plane that Joanna was planning to board from Singapore crashed. Almost everyone
got injured and their baggage got misplaced.
 The fire burnt Peter's house down and he lost his cell phone.

Anticlimax is closely connected with paradox. A lot of witty sayings and proverbs,
jokes and anecdotes are based on both paradox and anticlimax.
 
Definition of Paradox
A paradox is a statement that appears at first to be self-contradictory or opposed to common
sense, but upon reflection then makes sense. On closer examination it mostly reveals some truth.
This literary device is commonly used to engage a reader to discover an underlying logic in a
seemingly self-contradictory statement or phrase. As a result, paradox allows readers to
understand concepts in a different and even non-traditional way.
For example, playwright George Bernard Shaw famously stated the paradox that “youth is
wasted on the young.” At first, it is contradictory in the sense that the “young” are the ones that
embody “youth,” so therefore it cannot be “wasted” on them. However, this paradox makes
sense upon reflection. It illuminates the idea that young people may not have the perspective of
older people as far as what is truly important or valuable.
Youth, in this case, implies a vibrancy and energy that can be put towards those very actions that
are important and valuable, yet young people may not recognize what they are. Whereas older
people, who may recognize which actions have importance or value, often don’t feel such
vitality or willingness to take risks to do them. As a result, the very group who would benefit
from youth due to their perspective are the ones who, by definition, aren’t youthful.
Common Examples of Paradox
There are many common examples of paradox in everyday conversation and writing. Here
are some well-known and familiar uses of this literary device:
 less is more
 do the thing you think you cannot do
 the enemy of my enemy is my friend
 the beginning of the end
 earn money by spending it
 the more you give, the more you get
 living in the present for the future
 the best way out is always through
 the louder you are, the less they hear
 the only constant is change

Examples of Paradox in Movies

Examples are often portrayed in movies as well, through dialogue or situations. This
creates humour and/or causes the audience to think and gather greater meaning from a film. Here
are some examples of paradox in movies:
 “If everyone is special, no one is.” (Disney’s The Incredibles)
  “Me, I always tell the truth. Even when I lie.” (Scarface)
 “I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse.” (The Godfather)
 “You never know what worse luck your bad luck has saved you from.” (No Country for
Old Men)
Famous Examples of Paradox
Paradox is also found in many examples of poetry, prose, drama, lyrics, and clever
quotations. Here are some famous examples of paradox:
 “I can’t live with or without you” (With or Without You, lyrics by U2)
 “Whatever you do in life will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it”
(Ghandi)
 “It’s weird not to be weird” (John Lennon)
 “Life is a preparation for the future; and the best preparation for the future is to live as if
there were none” (Albert Einstein)
 “I know one thing, that I know nothing” (Socrates, as according to Plato)
 “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others” (Animal
Farm by George Orwell)
 It is awfully hard work doing nothing (O.Wilde)
Difference Between Paradox and Oxymoron
Many people confuse paradox and oxymoron as literary devices or find them
interchangeable. Both of these terms reflect apparent contradictions when it comes to ideas and
phrasing. However, a paradox involves a larger scope than an oxymoron. Paradox is a statement
or group of statements that seems to be self-contradictory as to what is logical, yet delivers the
message of an inherent plausibility, truth, or meaning.
An oxymoron, however, is a combination and juxtaposition of two words that contradict
each other, but serve as a sound or logical figure of speech. Whereas oxymoron is a contradiction
in terms, paradox is made up of contradictory phrases or sentences. However, both oxymoron
and paradox can achieve similar effects as a means of manipulating language through opposing
words and ideas to create deeper meaning.
The arrangement of sentence members, the completeness of sentence structure
necessarily involve various types of connection used within the sentence or between sentences.
Repeated use of conjunctions is called polysyndeton; deliberate omission of them is,
correspondingly, named asyndeton.

Asyndeton
Asyndeton, that is, connection between parts of a sentence or between sentences without any
formal sign, becomes a stylistic device if there is a deliberate omission of the connective where it
is generally expected to be according to the norms of the literary language. Here is an example:
"Soames turned away; he had an utter disinclination for talk like one standing before an
open grave, watching a coffin slowly lowered." (Galsworthy)
The deliberate omission of the subordinate conjunction ‘because’ or ‘for’ makes the
sentence 'he had an utter...' almost entirely independent. It might be perceived as a characteristic
feature of Soames in general, but for the comparison beginning with like, which shows that
Soames's mood was temporary.
You mean to tell me we lost the dog, the house, the car?
The dark, the moon, the stars - all created a romantic effect.
I remember those evenings at Grandma's - full of laughter, food, family.

Conjunctions are left out of sentences and phrases; this is done in literature and poetry to
present the words in their concise form. It is also done, sometimes, to maintain rhythm.

Polysyndeton
 Polysyndeton is the stylistic device of connecting sentences, or phrases, or syntagms, or
words by using connectives (mostly conjunctions and prepositions) before each component part,
as in:
"The heaviest rain, and snow, and hail, and sleet, could boast of the advantage over him in
only one respect." (Dickens)
The repetition of conjunctions and other means of connection makes an utterance more
rhythmical; so much so that prose may even seem like verse. The conjunctions and other
connectives, being generally unstressed elements, when placed before each meaningful member,
will cause the alternation of stressed and unstressed syllables — the essential requirement of
rhythm in verse. Hence, one of the functions of polysyndeton is a rhythmical one.
In addition to this, polysyndeton has a disintegrating function. It generally combines
homogeneous elements of thought into one whole resembling enumeration. But, unlike
enumeration, which integrates both homogeneous and heterogeneous elements into one whole,
polysyndeton causes each member of a string of facts to stand out conspicuously. That is why we
say that polysyndeton has a disintegrating function. Enumeration shows things united;
polysyndeton shows them isolated.
Polysyndeton has also the function of expressing sequence, as in:
"Then Mr. Boffin... sat staring at a little bookcase of Law Practice and Law Reports, and at
a window, and at an empty blue bag, and a stick of sealing-wax, and at a pen, and a box of
wafers, and an apple, and a writing-pad — all very dusty — and at a number of inky smears and
blots, and at an imperfectly disguised gun-case pretending to be something legal, and at an iron
box labelled "Harmon Estate", until Mr. Lightwood appeared." (Dickens)
All these ‘ands’ may easily be replaced by ‘thens’. But in this case too much stress would be
laid on the logical aspects of the utterance, whereas ‘and’ expresses both sequence and
disintegration.
Both polysyndeton and asyndeton, have a strong rhythmic impact. Besides, the function
of polysyndeton is to strengthen the idea of equal logical (emotive) importance of connected
sentences, while asyndeton, cutting off connecting words, helps to create the effect of terse,
energetic, active prose.
These two types of connection are more characteristic of the author's speech. The third
type - attachment (gap-sentence link) on the contrary, is mainly to be found in various
representations of the voice of the character - dialogue, reported speech, entrusted narrative. In
the attachment the second part of the utterance is separated from the first one by a full stop
though their semantic and grammatical ties remain very strong. The second part appears as an
afterthought and is often connected with the beginning of the utterance with the help of a
conjunction, which brings the latter into the foregrounded opening position.
Cf: "It wasn't his fault. It was yours. And mine." (S.L.);
"Prison is where she belongs. And my husband agrees one thousand per cent." (T.C.)