English Language Devices

Question 1

Denotation

Answer 1

The literal meaning of a word

Question 2

Connotation

Answer 2

The thoughts, feelings, meanings we associate with a word.

Question 3

Semantic field

Answer 3

Words that all link to one particular topic.

Question 4

Verbs

Answer 4

A doing word, process or happening.

Question 5

Adjectives

Answer 5

A word that describes a noun

Question 6

Pronouns

Answer 6

I, you, he, she, we, they.

Question 7

Abstract noun

Answer 7

A noun is a name or label.
A concrete noun is something you can hold: table, chair, bag.
An abstract noun is something intangible: holiday, anger, dream.

Question 8

Imagery

Answer 8

Visually descriptive or figurative language.

Question 9

Sensory Language

Answer 9

Language and descriptions using the five senses: sight, smell, touch, sound, taste.

Question 10

Simile

Answer 10

Saying something is like something else.

Question 11

Metaphor - Direct

Answer 11

Saying something is something else.

Question 12

Metaphor - Implied

Answer 12

Comparing two things that are not alike without actually mentioning the original thing being compared.

Question 13

Personification

Answer 13

Giving human-like features and feelings to non-human things.

Question 14

Symbolism

Answer 14

Where one thing is used to represent something else: a rose to represent love.

Question 15

Zoomorphism

Answer 15

Giving animal-like features, actions to non-human things.

Question 16

Pathetic fallacy

Answer 16

Giving emotions to things that are not human, often using weather to create atmosphere.

Question 17

Alliteration

Answer 17

The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of closely connected words.

Question 18

Sibilance

Answer 18

The repetition of the ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘z’ sounds in closely connected words.

Question 19

Consonance

Answer 19

The repetition of consonant sounds in closely connected words.

Question 20

Assonance

Answer 20

The repetition of vowel sounds in closely connected words.

Question 21

Onomatopia

Answer 21

Words that mimic the sound they represent.

Question 22

Contrast

Answer 22

Opposites placed close or across a text to highlight differences or change.

Question 23

Juxtaposition

Answer 23

Two things being seen or placed close together with a contrasting effect: light next to dark.

Question 24

Oxymoron

Answer 24

Contradictory terms appear together to create one overall meaning: He was falsely true.

Question 25

Atmosphere

Answer 25

The general feeling created by the poem.

Question 26

Mood

Answer 26

The feelings of the reader towards the presented topic: nostalgic, optimistic, joyful, sympathetic.

Question 27

Tone

Answer 27

The feelings of the poet or speaker towards the presented topic: tragic, harmonious, hopeless, intriguing.

Question 28

Linking phrases

Answer 28

Used to show effect when writing an analytical paragraph: to accentuate, to imply, to highlight, to illustrate, to show, to emphasise.

Question 29

Speaker

Answer 29

The voice of the poem, like a narrator. Sometimes this is the poet, other times not.

Question 30

Direct adress

Answer 30

Speaking directly to the reader using the pronoun ‘you’.

Question 30

Message

Answer 30

The main idea or story that the poet intends to convey.

Question 31

Emjabment

Answer 31

One line or stanza flows to the next without any punctuation at the end of the line.

Question 32

Stanza

Answer 32

Paragraph or section in poetry.

Question 33

Rhetorical question

Answer 33

A question asked in order to create a dramatic effect or to make a point rather than to get an answer.

Question 33

Caesura

Answer 33

A punctuated pause in the middle of a line of poetry: : ; - .

Question 34

Rhyme

Answer 34

Words with the same sound pattern: gloom and room.

Question 35

Iambic Pentameter

Answer 35

10 syllable heart-beat-like rhythm: da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM, da DUM.

Question 36

Sentence structure

Answer 36

The length of sentences. The way sentences are formed: passive, active, simple, compound, complex.

Question 37

Triplet

Answer 37

Three phrases in succession.

Question 38

Foreshadowing

Answer 38

Offering hints at future events.

Question 39

Asyndetic listing

Answer 39

A list where there is no conjunction (and).

Question 40

Polysyndetic

Answer 40

A list where all the items are separated with ‘and’.

Question 41

Repetition

Answer 41

When the same word or phrase recurs throughout a text.