Literary terms Flashcards
litch AO2
Adjective
Describing word
–> ‘blue’, ‘enormous’
Alliteration
Repetition of same sounds
–> ‘The slimy snake slithered away’
Plosive alliteration
Repetition of P and B sounds
Sibiliant alliteration
Repetition of S sounds
Dental alliteration
Repetition of D and T sounds
Guttural alliteration
Repetition of G, R and C sounds
Fricative alliteration
Repetition of F, Ph and V sounds
Assonance
Repetition of noun sounds
–> Fat and cat
Allusion
Brief, recognisable reference to a person, place of event
Ambiguity
More than one possible meaning/interpretation
Asyndetic listing
A list using commas
–> Mum, Dad, Xander, Hugo and the dogs
Colloquial language
Informal language
–> ‘nicked’, ‘pinched’ instead of ‘stole’
Conosonance
Repetition of double consonants in middle of words
–> ‘better buy some butter’
Declarative mood
Sentence that expresses a statement
–> ‘he stood there, waiting’
Direct address
Speaking directly to someone
Dysphemism
Opposite of euphemism
–> extreme way of saying something
–> ‘his heads was blown off and there was blood everywhere’
Euphemism
Inoffensive word subsitiuted in place of a hurtful one
–> ‘passed away’ instead of ‘died’
Hyperbole
Exaggeration
–> ‘the pain of twenty thousand daggers stabbing me in the heart’
Imagery
Descriptive or metaphorical use of language used to create a vivid picture
Imperative mood
Sentence that expresses a command
–> ‘pick that up’
Interrogative mood
A sentence that expresses a question
–> ‘do you want this’
Juxtaposition
Placing different things together to either create a comparison or to contrast
Lexical field
A group of words with associated meanings and uses - all related
Metaphor
Something said about something else
–> ‘dark green pebbles for eyes’
Modal verb
Expressed a degree of possibility of necessity
–> ‘could’, ‘might’, ‘should’, ‘may’
Monosyllabic lexis
Single-syllable words
–> ‘How could you?’
Noun
A naming word
–> ‘chair’, ‘penguin’, ‘man’, ‘ghost’
Onomatopoeia
Words that sound like the noise they are describing
–> ‘buzz’
Oxymoron
Contrasting terms combine
–> ‘definitely maybe’
Pathetic fallacy
Attribution of human feelings to objects in nature, especially weather
Personification
Something taking on human characteristics
–> ‘the car looked at me’
Plosive language
Powerful letters such as B and P
–> ‘Batman, big shot
Polysyllabic lexis
More than one syllable in each word
–> ‘very, very pretty’
Polysyndeton
A list or series of words that’s connected with the repeated use of the same conjunction
–> ‘and’ ‘or’
Semantic field
Group of words in the same topic
–> ocean - ‘blue’ ‘water’ ‘waves
Staccato
Disjointed, rapid, sharp speech or writing
–> ‘Gas! Gas! Quick boys!’
Stichomythic dialogue
Rapidly alternating lines of conversation
Superlative
Word that emphasises the extremes
–> ‘best’ ‘worst’
Syndetic listing
A list using the word ‘and’
–> ‘Mum and Dad and Xander and Hugo and the dogs’
Tautology
When the same thing is said twice
–> ‘reverse back’ ‘stupid idiot’
Tricolon
Listing three things to build momentum
–> ‘Cry God for Harry, England, and St. George’
Verb
A doing word
–> ‘run’ ‘swim’ ‘write’
