Language techniques Flashcards
Metaphor
A comparison made without using ‘like’ or ‘as.’
Simile
A comparison made using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to create a vivid image.
Personification
A type of imagery in which non-human objects, animals or ideas are given human characteristics.
Motif
Any repeated idea, theme or image that has a symbolic significance in the text.
Repetition
Words, phrases or ideas that are repeated for effect.
Listing
A number of connected items written one after the other.
Alliteration
The repetition of the same sounds (mainly consonants) usually at the beginning of words.
Onomatopoeia
The sound of words to express or underline their meaning.
Rhetorical question
Asking a question that doesn’t require an answer to evoke an emotional response.
Hyperbole
The use of exaggeration to magnify its effect.
Direct address
Talking directly to the audience in the second person.
Oxymoron
A phrase combining two or more contradictory terms.
Pathetic fallacy
A type of personification where emotions are given to a setting, an object or the weather
Emotive language
Language intended to create an emotional response.
Adjective
A descriptive word
