Language Techniques & Parts of Speech Flashcards
concrete nouns
words for things you can see/touch e.g. table/church/book etc.
abstract nouns
words for things you can imagine/feel e.g. love/pain/idea/thought
adjectives
words that describe nouns e.g. large/impressive/private
verbs
doing words e.g. pray/kiss/stab
adverbs
words that describe verbs e.g. slowly/bravely/foolishly
personal pronouns
e.g. me/you/him/her
possessive pronouns
e.g. mine/yours/his/hers
exclusive pronouns
e.g. me vs you / us vs them
inclusive pronouns
e.g. we/us/our
prepositions
words that tell you where something is e.g. on/above/opposite
imagery
Vivid pictures created by words. Reader visualises character/setting clearly.
visual imagery
Words to do with things that you can see
tactile imagery
Words to do with different textures
olfactory imagery
Words to do with smells/tastes
aural imagery
Words to do with sounds
simile
comparing two things using like/as
metaphor
describing one thing as if it was something else without using as/like/than e.g. She is the ship on which I must travel
personification
Giving an inanimate object or idea humanlike characteristics in a metaphorical and representative way.
emotive language
words that are linked to emotion, or provoke strong emotions in the audience e.g. hate, love, children
hyperbole
exaggerations
superlatives
words that show extremity e.g. tallest, shortest, cleverest, biggest
exclamations
sentences ending with an exclamation mark
rhetorical questions
questions with an obvious answer
imperative verbs/voice
commands
declarative statements
statements of fact e.g. I felt sad, she came home, we gave up
pun
a play on words
foreshadowing
Hints at what will happen later on
pathetic fallacy
when you suggest the weather has emotions e.g. the heavens wept or when the weather echoes a character’s emotions e.g. rain > sad
alliteration
repetition of a letter sound at the start of several words.
dental alliteration
repetition of ‘d’/’t’ sounds
plosive alliteration
repetition of ‘p’/’b’ sounds
liquid alliteration
repetition of ‘l’ sounds
bilabial alliteration
repetition of ‘m’ sounds
aspirant alliteration
repetition of ‘h’ sounds
fricative alliteration
repetition of ‘f’/‘ph’ sounds
Sibilance
repetition of ‘s’ sounds
consonance
repetition of a particular consonant within a sentence
can be hard like ‘b’/’d’/’p’/’t’/’c’/’k’/’ck’
or can be soft like ‘l’/’f’/’ph’/’s’
assonance
repetition of a vowel sound within a sentence
can be long vowels like ‘ah’ or ‘ee’ or ‘oo’
or can be short vowels like ‘a’ or ‘e’, ‘i’, ‘o’, ‘u’
stanza
what poems are divided into (like paragraphs, but in poetry)
free verse
where there’s no clear pattern in terms of how many lines per stanza
block-form
where the whole poem is just one stanza
couplets
where each stanza is two lines long
tercets
where each stanza is three lines long
quatrains
where each stanza is four lines long
pentains
where each stanza is five lines long
sestet
where you have a stanza of six lines
octet
where you have a stanza of eight lines
sonnet
A poem of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter with a regular rhyme scheme
Elizabethan sonnet
A type of sonnet featuring alternating rhyme in the first three quatrains, followed by a rhyming couplet: ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
Petrarchan sonnet
A type of sonnet featuring arch rhyme for the first two quatrains, followed by various rhyming patterns in the remaining six lines: e.g. ABBA CDDC EFG EFG
blank verse
A type of verse, but without any rhyming lines
rhymed verse
A type of verse with one/more rhymed lines
irregular rhyme
Where there’s no obvious rhyming pattern
regular rhyme
Where there is an obvious pattern to the rhyme
rhyming couplet
Two lines of verse, often rhymed to suggest harmony or a sense of completion
alternating rhyme
When the first and third lines rhyme, and the second and fourth lines rhyme: e.g. ABAB
arch-rhyme
When the first and fourth lines rhyme and the second and third lines rhyme: e.g. ABBA
half-rhyme
When the rhyme words sort of rhyme, but not perfectly e.g. love/prove
ballad rhyme
When a poem is written in quatrains, and the first and third line don’t rhyme but the second and fourth lines do e.g. ABCB
iambic pentameter
A line of 10 syllables with five stressed beats e.g. di-DUM-di-DUM-di-DUM-di DUM-di-DUM
iambic tetrameter
A line of 8 syllables with four stressed beats e.g. di-DUM-di-DUM-di-DUM-di DUM
hypermetric lines
when most of the lines have the same number of syllables, but one or two lines have more - those lines are hypermetric
catalectic lines
when most of the lines have the same number of syllables, but one or two lines have fewer - those lines are catalectic
enjambment
when a sentence starts on one line and runs onto the next line with no punctuation at the end of the line to stop it
end-stopping
when there is punctuation at the end of the line
caesura
when there’s punctuation somewhere in the middle of a line
juxtaposition
placing two things together for effect
antithesis
placing two opposite/contrasting things or ideas together for effect
oxymoron/paradox
placing two impossible things together for effect
complex sentences
sentences with more than one clause; clauses are often separated by commas, hyphens, or brackets
compound sentences
longer sentences featuring connectives such as and/but/so/for/or/nor/yet/so/ because/although etc.
simple sentences
sentences with a subject, a verb, and sometimes an object; tend to be short
fragments
grammatically incomplete sentences; they might be missing a verb or might only contain a verb e.g. My only love! / e.g. Come! / e.g. Now!
repetition
repetition of the same word/phrase
asyndetic listing
listing without connectives e.g. bread, milk, cheese, rice, eggs
syndetic listing
listing with connectives e.g. bread and milk and cheese and rice and eggs
parallel sentences
Sentences that have a similar structure but slightly different words e.g. I have a vision, I have a purpose, I have a dream.
Cliche
An over-used, common expression
Didactic
Text instructs the reader or delivers a moral message
Disjunction
A conjunction (e.g. FANBOYS) that dramatically interrupts the rhythm of the sentence.
Ellipsis
A dramatic pause (…) creates tension & suggests words can’t be spoken
Euphemism
Mild expression used to replace a harsh one
Form
Purpose and features of a text influence its structure
Fractured/truncated sentences
Incomplete sentences used in dialogue, or to increase tension.
Icon
A single person, object or image that represents complex ideas and feelings.
Intertextuality/allusion
A text makes reference to other texts. May be explicit, implied or inferred
Irony
Gap between what is said and what is meant
Levels of language usage
- Slang
- Colloquial
- Informal
- Formal
Linear
Narrative structure is sequential and in chronological order
Modality
Force words are delivered at.
High modality
Forceful
Low modality
Gentle
Non-linear
Non-sequential narrative, events do not occur in chronological order
Onomatopoeia
Word that echoes the sound it represents. Reader hears what is happening
Parody
Imitation for satiric purpose
First person POV
- Personal
- Subjective
- Limited to one perspective
- Pronouns ‘I’ and ‘we’
Second person POV
- Instructional
- Develops connection with reader
- Pronoun ‘you’
Third person POV
- Omniscient
- Distances characters and author
- Multiple perspectives
- Pronouns ‘she’ ‘he’ ‘they’ ‘it’
Representation
Conveying meaning through textual features
Satire
Ridicules in a scornful & humorous way
Setting
Location - internal and external
Symbolism
Object represents one or more (often complex) ideas
Syntax
Sentence structure, length and flow of words
Tense
Past, present, future
Theme
Message or moral that makes us ponder bigger issues in life
Tone
Composer or character’s fellings conveyed by word choice
Lexical chain
Words used in similar context/similar ideas
