Literary Techniques Flashcards
Metaphor
metaphor is a way of comparing things by stating that one thing is the same or very similar to another seemingly unrelated object. Metaphor is a type of analogy, and is often mistaken with simile. The difference between metaphor and simile is that a simile includes “like” or “as” in the comparison whereas metaphor is an assertion of the comparison without modifiers or conjunctions.
Alliteration
alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent words.
Auxiliary verb
A verb that has to be used with another verb in order to create present particles or the future tense.
EG->
DID you go?
I AM going.
You WILL go.
Modal verb
An auxiliary verb that expresses a degree of possibility or necessity.
EG->
Could , should , may , might.
Stative verb
A word representing a process that is often only mental.
EG->
Love, ponder, believe, to fear.
I [love] you. Stative sense
Active verb
A word representing a physical action.
EG->
Jump, run, kill, slap, kiss.
Verb
A word that represents an action or process
EG->
Walking, skipping
Proper noun
A naming word for a specific example of a common noun. Often places or names of people
EG->
Bob, Eiffel Tower, Burnley, Wayne Rooney.
Synecdoche
A metaphor that states that something is only a small constituent part of itself even though we understand otherwise.
EG->
A new set of wheels (car).
Common noun.
A naming word for a thing that is tangible.
EG->
Chair, penguin, man, murderer, ghost, crumpet.
Abstract noun
A naming word for an idea, concept, state of being or belief.
EG->
Sadness, love, politics, Marxism, hate
[love] is in the air. Abstract sense.
Declarative sentence
When a sentence is making a statement.
EG->
I don’t like cheese.
Interrogative sentence.
When a sentence is asking a question.
EG->
Where are you going ?
Exclamative sentence
When a sentence conveys. String sense of emotion, sense of alarm it overly strong emphasis.
EG->
That was fantastic !
Register
The level of formality of a text
Tenor
The tone or the relationship between the author and the reader and how it is created.
Allusion
To refer to something indirectly or metaphorically.
EG->
Don’t act like Romeo In front of her !
First person pronoun
I - singular
We, our , us - plural
Second person pronoun
You
Third person pronoun
Him, her , he , she - singular
Them , those - plural
Possessive pronoun
1st, 2nd, 3rd
My, mine, our , your, his, hers , theirs
Demonstrative pronoun
This, that, those
Monosyllabic Lexis
Words of one syllable,
EG->
Yes, no, but
Polysyllabic Lexis
Words of two or more syllables
Colloquialism
Informal language usage
EG->
Bloke, fella, lass, arse, scran
Exclamation
A one word sentence (always a minor sentence) with an exclamation mark at the end.
Ellipsis
When parts of a written structure are missing. Indicated by 3 dots
Syntax
The ordering of words in a sentence to create meaning
Parenthesis
Extra information between brackets dashes it between two commas
Rhetorical question
A question deigned not to be answered. Piques interest
Hypophora
When a rhetorical question is followed by an answer
Hyperbole
Deliberate over exaggeration for effect
Liotes
Deliberate downplaying of things for effect.
EG->
It is not rocket science,
Parallelism
Creation of patterns in a text through repetition:
- phrases (phonological parallelism)
- balancing meaning ( semantic parallelism)
Tricolon
Grouping in threes either through repetition of structures for emphasis or add sense of momentum.
Imagery
Descriptive or metaphorical use of language to create vivid picture
Post modification
Descriptive technique where the descriptive words come after what they’re describing.
EG->
The wad of cash big and fat, spewed from his pockets.
Simile
A comparison that states that something is like or as something else
Pronoun
A word that takes the place of a noun in a sentence
Indefinite article
A / An
Definite article
The
Comparative
An adjective that relates one thing in some way to another, typically ends in -er
EG->
Bigger, smaller, farther.
Superlative.
An adjective that displays the most extreme values of its quality. Mainly end with -est.
EG->
Biggest, smallest, smelliest, furthest.
Adverb
A describing word that modifies all types of words excludes nouns.
EG->
Quickly, greedily, beautifully
Adjective
A describing word that modifies a noun.
EG->
Beautiful, adorable, meaningless
Pre-modification
Descriptive technique where the descriptive words come before the thing they’re describing.
EG->
Big, fat wad of cash spewed from his pockets.
Analogy
Explaining something in terms of something else.
EG->
If people were like rain, I was a drizzle and she was a hurricane
Imperative sentence
When a sentence is issuing a command.
EG->
Go left and it’s first on your right.
Anaphoric reference
Making reference to something previously identified
Cataphoric reference
Making reference forward to something as yet Unidentified in the text
Exophoric reference
Making reference to things beyond the language of a text itself
Topographical features
Features of fonts used in texts such as font size shape and colour
Orthographical features
Features in the writing system such as spelling, capitalisation and punctuation
