Literary techniques - IB English Flashcards
What is allusion
Allusion is an expression or phrase in one text that calls to mind an expression or phrase from another text without direct reference.
Example:
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. (from the American Declaration of Independence) I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted… (from the Bible, Isaiah 40:4-5) from I Have a Dream, Martin Luther King, 1963.
What is amplification
Amplification repeats a word or expression while adding more detail to it, in order to emphasize something.
Example:
I know I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king, and of a king of England, too. (Queen Elizabeth I)
What is anadiplosis
Anadiplosis repeats one or several words that end one clause to begin another.
Examples:
Men in great place are thrice servants: servants of the sovereign or state; servants of fame; and servants of business. (Francis Bacon)
They call for you: the general who became a slave; the slave who became a gladiator; the gladiator who defied an Emperor. (from the movie Gladiator)
What is analogy
Analogy is a comparison of two things or abstract ideas. A simile is an expressed analogy. A metaphor is an implied one.
Example:
Never, never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the world. Inaugural address, Nelson Mandela, 1994.
What is anaphora
Anaphora repeats the same word or words at the beginning of successive phrases, or sentences.
Examples:
But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languished in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. (Martin Luther King, Jr.)
But in a larger sense, we cannot dedicate, we cannot consecrate, we cannot hallow this ground . . . (Abraham Lincoln)
I needed a drink, I needed a lot of life insurance, I needed a vacation, I needed a home in the country. What I had was a coat, a hat and a gun. (from Farewell, My Lovely)
What is anecdote
An anecdote is a small story or tale that is interesting, humorous, or biographical. Anecdotes often contain a lesson for life.
Example:
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I’ve ever gotten to a college graduation. Stanford Commencement, Steve Jobs, 2005
What is antistrophe/epistrophe
Antistrophe or epistrophe repeats the same word or phrase at the end of successive clauses.
Examples:
In 1931, ten years ago, Japan invaded Manchukuo – without warning . In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia– without warning. In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria – without warning . In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia – without warning. Later in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland – without warning . And now Japan has attacked Malaya and Thailand – and the United States – without warning. (Franklin D. Roosevelt)
It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation: Yes, we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail towards freedom through the darkest of nights: Yes, we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness: Yes, we can. – (Barack Obama)
What is antithesis
Antithesis is a rhetorical device used to contrast two opposing ideas.
Examples:
One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. Neil Armstrong, 1969.
And so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. Inaugural address, John F. Kennedy, 1961.
What is chiasmus
Chiasmus is a very commonly used and effective technique where the words in one phrase or clause are reversed in the next.
Examples:
But just because you’re born in the slum does not mean the slum is born in you, and you can rise above it if your mind is made up. (Jesse Jackson(
It’s not the men in my life that counts: it’s the life in my men. (Mae West)
The true test is not the speeches the president delivers; it’s if the president delivers on the speeches. (Hilary Clinton)
What is climax/gradation
Climax (also called gradation) is the arrangement of words or phrases in order of increasing importance or emphasis.
Examples:
And from the crew of Apollo 8, we close with good night, good luck, a merry Christmas, and God bless all of you, all of you on the good earth. (Frank Borman, Apollo 8 astronaut)
And now I ask you ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, for the good of all of us, for the love of this great nation, for the family of America, for the love of God; please make this nation remember how futures are built. (Mario Cuomo, Governor of New York)
What is hypophora
Hypophora is a figure of reasoning in which one or more questions or objections is asked or stated and then answered by the speaker, reasoning aloud (the original ‘rhetorical question’).
Examples:
When the enemy struck on that June day of 1950, what did America do? It did what it always has done in all its times of peril. It appealed to the heroism of its youth. (General Dwight D. Eisenhower)
You ask, what is our policy? I will say: It is to wage war, by sea, land, and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime. That is our policy. You ask, what is our aim? I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be. (We Shall Fight on the Beaches, Winston Churchill, 1940).
What is parallelism
Parallelism is a figure of balance identified by successive words or phrases with the same or very similar grammatical structure.
Examples:
Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty. (John F. Kennedy)
Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I may remember. Involve me and I will learn. (Benjamin Franklin)
What is symploce
Symploce repeats the first and last word or words in one phrase or sentence in one or more successive ones, thereby combining ANAPHORA and EPISTROPHE
Example:
Much of what I say might sound bitter, but it’s the truth. Much of what I say might sound like it’s stirring up trouble, but it’s the truth. Much of what I say might sound like it is hate, but it’s the truth. (Malcolm X)
What is tricolon
Tricolon is the use of words, phrases, examples, or the beginnings or endings of phrases or sentences in threes.
Example:
Government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth (President Abraham Lincoln)
What is varied sentence length
Varied sentence length is the mixture of short, medium and long sentences.
Examples:
We dedicate this day to all the heroes and heroines in this country and the rest of the world who sacrificed in many ways and surrendered their lives so that we could be free. Their dreams have become reality. (Inaugural address Nelson Mandela, 1994.)
Simple sentences: The boy wanted to go outside. He had to eat his pizza first. Compound: The boy wanted to go outside but he had to eat his pizza first. Complex: Although the boy wanted to go outside, he had to eat his pizza first.
