language techniques Flashcards
synecdoche
a figure of speech in which a part of something s made to represent the whole or vice versa
e.g a HEAD count – a people count
metonymy
when a word associated with something is used to refer to the thing itself
e.g the crown – the king or queen
anaphora
repetition of the same word at the beginning of phrases
e.g After the sunsets and the dooryards…After the novels, after the tea cups,
parenthesis
a word, clause, or sentence inserted as an explanation or afterthought into a passage that is grammatically complete without it, in writing usually marked off by curved brackets, dashes, or commas
epizeuxis
a form of repetition in which a word is repeated immediately for emphasis
quotidian
of or occurring every day; daily
mordant
(especially of humor) having or showing a sharp or critical quality; biting
fragmentation
jumping from one thing to another
anti-aesthetic language
making something seem uglier than it is – opposite of typical romantic language
Enjambment
a poetic term for the continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next
abstraction
the quality of dealing with ideas rather than events
antimetabole
the repetition of words in successive clauses, but in transposed order
deixis
pointers in a text that allow you to identify its time and place
hypophora
a rhetorical term for a strategy in which a speaker or writer raises a question and then immediately answers it
wryly
in a way that expresses dry, especially mocking, humour.
epistrophe
the repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences
Dirimens copulatio
mentioning a balancing or opposing fact to prevent the argument from being one-sided or unqualified
Exemplum
an example or model, especially a story told to illustrate a moral point.
Litotes
negation to create affirmative understatement, e.g. “That wasn’t half bad”
Scesis onomaton
emphasises an idea by expressing it in a string of generally synonymous phrases or statements
rhetorical technique consisting of a sentence constructed only of nouns and adjectives
Sententia
a maxim, proverb, or popular quotation – a brief expression of conventional wisdom
