English A Textual Analysis and Literary Devices

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering literary terminology, textual analysis concepts, rhetorical appeals, speech structures, and analytical writing conventions from the English A notes.

Textual analysis

How text and the mind are connected, involving being a critic who tries to interpret and understand deeper meaning.

A text

A group of signs arranged in a particular way or arrangement.

IB definition of a text

Anything we can extract meaning from.

A sign

A fluid thing; something that the receiver gives a meaning to.

Signifier

The 'sign' that signifies.

Signified

What is signified by the signifier (can be text, visuals, etc.).

Context

The surroundings of the signifier that changes the signified.

Tone

The attitude of the speaker towards their subject, expressed through word choice and style from the author.

Plot

The story's sequence of events.

Discourses

Communication about something.

Literature

Society speaking to itself about itself.

Parallelism

The usage of repeating words and forms to give pattern and rhythm.

Grammatical parallelism

The repetition of grammatical structure.

Anaphora

Repeating words or phrases at the beginning of clauses or sentences (e.g., 'We will not get out of bed. We will not go to sleep…').

Epistrophe

Repeating a word or phrase at the end of a sentence (e.g., 'In the library: food. In the beds: food…').

Antithesis

Contrasting concepts placed in grammatically parallel sentences (e.g., 'It was freezing, but we are warm…').

Mood

The atmosphere or surroundings of a text that promotes certain feelings in the reader.

Hyperbolic language

Extreme exaggeration, or the use of extreme words.

Purpose

The aim or the goal of the text.

Declarative sentence

A sentence that states some kind of fact or claim.

Implication

An indirect suggestion; understanding without being stated directly, representing what the reader thinks.

Diction

The choice and use of words to describe something.

Interpellation

Using language to coarse someone.

Othering

Making a group different from 'us,' often used by politicians.

The Hook (Speech)

A personal anecdote used to introduce the listener to the speaker.

Imperative sentence

A sentence that prompts the audience to imagine something and makes the listener think.

Rhetoric

The art of persuasion.

Ethos

A rhetorical appeal to authority.

Logos

A rhetorical appeal to logic or facts.

Pathos

A rhetorical appeal to emotions.

Imagery

Language that makes the reader form mental pictures.

Literal imagery

The exact definitions of words with no literary devices used (e.g., 'The water was cold when I jumped in').

Figurative imagery

Using literary devices like similes or metaphors to make imagery (e.g., 'The cold water hit me as I jumped in').

Similie

A comparison using 'like' or 'as'.

Metaphor

Putting, imbuing, or ascribing characteristics right onto a character; a direct comparison.

Paper One Analytical Text

An analytical writing task that discusses how language produces meanings and thoughts in the reader.