Language features Flashcards
Alliteration
Repetition of sounds at the start of words in close proximity
Often not worth noting as a feature because it’s insignificant, so just mention as a side thing.
Anaphora
the repetition of or a word or phrase at the beginning of multiple lines or sentences.
Authors use this to create a dramatic significance for what they’re saying
” I remember when we met. I remember our first date. I remember our first kiss. I remember saying, “I do.”
Emotive words
Words that are purposely chosen by the writer to elicit a strong emotional response from the reader.
“I saw a twisted mass of mangled steel and shattered glass”
Imagery
When authors use language to evoke one or more of the five senses in a strong, descriptive way.
Always be specific to what sense e.g. visual, tactile, olfactory, gustatory, auditory, and preferably have an adjective to describe it.
Allows the reader to visualise being there
Metaphor
A comparison between two seemingly different things.
The child was a monkey, climbing all over the table and chairs and screaming at the top of his lungs.
You are encouraged to notice the resemblance between these objects because one word or phrase is literally replaced by another word or phrase.
Metonymy
The act of referring to something by a closely related object rather than by its own name.
“the White House issued a major decision today”
Onomatoepoiea
Use of words that sound like the noises they describe.
Words like buzz, boom, crash, creak, sizzle, hiss, and zap.
Pathetic fallacy/personification
The attribution of human traits to non-‐humans, especially nature.
The dark, heavy clouds looked pregnant with rain
The sad, lonely flower hunched over in its pot.
Probably just say personification to avoid confusion
Sarcasm
The use of words that mean the opposite of how someone actually feels, usually either to show disdain or to achieve a comedic effect.
I absolutely looove getting stuck in traffic. It’s my faaavorite!
Used to convey a particular tone
Simile
A comparison between two seemingly unlike things that uses words such as “like,” “as,” or “than.”
Pokie machines are like leeches
Antithesis
Contrasting two elements whilst using the same sentence structure in both (parralelism)
A moment on the lips; a lifetime on the hips.
Oxymoron
Pairing two words that are opposites
Terribly good
Diction
The selective expression of words by the writer which allows the text to fulfil it’s purpose
E.g. I have measured out my life with coffee spoons conveys the degradation of human life
Irony
What is said actually implies the opposite
E.g. ‘Don’t go overboard with the gratitude,’ when no one bothers to thank him
“We won’t discuss his past crimes” - they are important, yet ostensibly avoided
Repetition
The continual use of words or phrases to empahsise a particular idea
“The rain fell relentlessly, tapping on the roof, tapping on the windows, tapping on my soul.”
Suggests a deeper emotional resonance, creates a melancholic tone, creates emphasis, intensifying the sensory experience
