Verbs of Inference
Suggests
Implies
Indicates
Conveys
Depicts
Signifies
Illustrates
Exemplifies
Highlights
Alludes to
Insinuates
Intimates
Analytical Verbs
Accentuates
Intensifies
Enhances
Heightens
Creates
Establishes
Builds
Encapsulates
Epitomises
Typifies
Reinforces
Strengthens
Symbolises
Represents
Evokes
Reader’s Response
Shocks
Horrifies
Disgusts
Surprises
Astonishes
Amazes
Intrigues
Entices
Confuses
Perplexes
Bewilders
Alienates
Isolates
Overwhelms
Frustrates
Angers
Infuriates
Inspires
Emboldens
Empowers
Adverbs of Affirmations
Definitely
Surely
Certainly
Deliberately
Cleverly
Frequently
Regularly
Unquestionably
Indubitably
Characteristically
Typically
Adverbs of Clarity
Especially
Particularly
Notably
Prominently
Marked
Predominantly
Adverbs of Speculation
Possibly
Potentially
Seemingly
Viably
Arguably
Conceivably
Modal Verbs
Could
Might
May
Similarities
Similarly
Likewise
Complements
Parallels
Corresponds
Differences
Contrasts with
Juxtaposes
Differs from
Contradicts
Opposes
Exposition (laying out)
Introduced to main characters and settings.
The inciting incident
Something happens to change things, usually to the protagonist. This is when the story usually begins.
Complications
Complications or turning points change the course of the story. Sometimes Multiple.
Climax
When things come to a head, leading to a happy or sad ending. This is not usually not right at the end.
The coda “tail”
This describes a usually short section where we can reflect on what has happened. Normally the writer reminds us in some way of the beginning of the story. (e.g. - returning the protagonist to same place).
Themes in both Tess and ATSS
Powerlessness of the victim
Courage / Sacrifice
Loss
Violence and Fear
Motherhood
Relationships
Death
Journeys
The concept of time
The experience of growing up
Cruelty
Allegory
A rhetorical device that creates a close, one-to-one comparison.
E.g. 21st century Britain and a Hive
Both have queens, workers and soldiers
Allusion
A figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event or literary work by the way of passing reference. Makes connections.
Antagonist
Someone who is opposed the protagonist
Anti-Hero
A central character who does not have the qualities usually associated with a 'hero’
Antithesis
The direct oppositie
Bildungsroman
A text, usually a novel, describing the childhood and education of the central character.
Colloquial
Colloquial language is the informal language of conversation. E.g. using the term ‘kids’ instead of the standard english word ‘children’
Denouement
The culmination or result of an action, plan or plot
Diatribe
An impassioned rant or angry speech of denunciation
doppelganger
Usually shaped as a twin, shadow or a mirror image of a protagonist. It often refers to a character who physically resembles the protagonist and may have the same name as well. It can take the form of an ‘evil twin’, not known to the actual person, who confuses people related to the original person.
Dystopian
Dystopian Literature shows us a nightmarish image about what might happen in the near future. Usually the main themes are ; rebellion, oppression, revolutions, wars, overpopulation and disasters. Opposite of this is Utopia, which is a perfect world.
Empiricism
As a philosophy empiricism means bashing knowledge on direct, sensory perceptions of the world. Empirical means seeking out facts established by experience not theory.
Epigraph
A short quotation or saying at the beginning of the book or chapter, intended to suggest the theme.
Epistolary
A novel written in the form of an exchange of letters (epistles)
Exposition
Literary device used to introduce background information about events, settings, characters etc. To the audience or the readers
Foreground
To emphasis or make prominent
Foreshadow
Where the future events in a story, or perhaps the outcome, are suggested by the author before they happen.
Form
The type of literary expression chosen by an author.
Genre
A more precise definition of the different literary forms. There are general categories, such as poetry, drama, prose. There are specific categories within these larger divisions, a sonnet is a specific genre within the larger genre of poetry
Hyperbole
The use of exaggeration for effect
Intertextuality
A term describing the many ways in which the text can be interrelated, ranging from direct quotations or echoing, to parody
Juxtaposition
A literary technique in which two or more words, ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.
Meta
From the Greek meaning ‘above or beyond’. Meta is often used in compound words ; metatext, metatheatre, metafiction. these words usually describe moments when the text goes beyond its own fictionality or makes the audience / readers aware of the conventions of its fiction. An aside could be described as a ‘metatheatrical’ event. The audience offstage hear words the audience onstage cannot hear. Metafiction is fiction about fiction ; novels and often stories that call attention to their fictional status and their own compositional procedures.