Key Terminology for Analysis

Metaphor

Applying a word or phrase to an object as a means of non-literal comparison

Simile

Comparing one thing to another with words such as “like” or “as”

Metonymy

A figure of speech in which one word or phrase is substituted for another with which it is closely associated e.g. using “Wall Street” as a stand in for the financial industry

Synecdoche

A type or metonymy in which part of something is used to represent the whole or vice versa, such as using "wheels" to refer to a car, or all hands on deck to refer to the crew.

Personification

Attributing human characteristics to non-human entities or objects.

Antanaclasis

Repeating a word or phrase multiple times in a sentence with it meaning different things each time it appears

Paranomasia

The use of a word similar in sound to achieve a specific effect like humour or dual meaning e.g. “horse lovers are stable people”

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word by imitating the sound associated with the object or action it refers to, such as "buzz" or "sizzle."

Malapropism

Mistakenly using a wrong word in place of a similar sounding one, often with humorous effect, such as saying "He is the pineapple of politeness" instead of "pinnacle."

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis or effect.

Litotes

Ironic understatement nin which an affirmative is expressed by the negative of its contrary, for example saying "not bad" to mean "good."

Irony

A figure of speech where the intended meaning is opposite to the literal meaning, often used to convey sarcasm or humor.

Oxymoron

A figure of speech in which contradictory terms appear in conjunction, such as "deafening silence" or "bittersweet."

Paradox

A statement that contradicts itself but may reveal a deeper truth, such as "less is more."

Antithesis

A rhetorical device that contrasts two opposing ideas in a balanced structure, often used to highlight differences. E.g. “they promised opportunity but provided slavery”

Parenthesis

A rhetorical device that inserts additional information or commentary within a sentence, often marked by parentheses or dashes, to provide clarity or emphasis.

Ellipsis

Punctuation indicated by “…" - an omission for speech, writing or word(s) that are understood by contextual. Can be used to build suspense. It can also indicate a pause or unfinished thought in dialogue.

Asyndeton

A rhetorical device that omits coordinating conjunctions. For example, “I came, I saw, I conquered”.

Alliteration

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

Assonance

Resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words, arising particularly from the rhyming of two or more stressed vowels, but not consonants (e.g. sonnet, porridge), but also from the use of identical consonants with different vowels (e.g killed, cold, culled)

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences or verses, especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.

Anadiplosis

The repetition of a prominent and usually the last word in one phrase at the beginning of the next e.g. “rely on his honour - honour such as this?”

Allegory

A text or work with a hidden meaning within it (usually moral or political)

Ambiguity

The quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness

Anagnorisis

The point in a play, novel etc., in which a principal character recognises or discovers another character’s true identity or the true nature of their own circumstances.

Atmosphere

The way an author uses setting, objects, or internal thoughts of characters to create moods, emotions and experiences for the reader.

Bathos

An effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional change in mood from the sublime to the trivial or ridiculous

Bildungsroman

A novel showing a young protagonist’s journey from childhood, typically a “coming of age” of a person who goes in search to answers of life’s questions

Caesura

A pause in the middle of a line of poetry. It usually comes in the form of punctuation, commonly full stops or commas.

Caricature

A picture, description, or imitation of a person in which certain striking characteristics are exaggerated to create a comic or grotesque effect.

Colloquial

Informal and conversational and more suitable for use in speech than in writing

Conceit

A witty thought / idea / image, deliberately far-fetched comparison

Defamiliarisation

When writes focus more on the process of writing itself rather than furthering a plot. Makes a seemingly ordinary thing feel strange by looking at them from a weird angle.

Denouement

At the end of the story when conflict is resolved, and a final resolution is reached

Diction

Intentional selection of words to convey a message, create a tone, or establish a writing style

Didatic

Intended to teach something, often with a moral lessons → “a didactic novel / tone”

Dramatic Irony

A literary technique, originally used in Greek tragedy, by which the full significance of a character’s words or actions is clear to the audience or reader although unknown to the character

Elegy

A poem of serious reflection, often sad in tone

End stops

Indication of the end of a line with a complete phrase or sentence

Enjambment

The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet or stanza.

Epigram

A short, witty and often satirical poem or saying, often dealing with a single thought or event

Epiphany

Any moment when a character has a moment of sudden and great realisation or revelation

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds

Form

The physical structure or shape of a work: how is it arranged, patterns, divisions, structures used

Genre

A style or category of art, music or literature

Iambic (iamb)

Two-syllable metric pattern - an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed one

Trochaic (trochee)

A line of poetry that is made up of troches (metrical units of 2 syllables)

Spondaic (spondee)

A metrical pattern in poetry where two syllables are long and stressed - e.g. downtown

Metre

Rhythmic pattern of a poetic line, a regular pattern that defines the rhythm

Mood

The overall emotion and atmosphere the author intends the reader to feel while reading the book

Motif

A dominant or recurring symbol or image

Omniscient

A literary technique of writing a narrative in the third person, in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of every character in the story

Parody

A work that exaggeratedly mimics the style of another work (genre), often for comedic effect

Pastiche

Imitation of the style of another work (content and manner) - can be mildly ridiculing but oftentimes is in homage to the original and creating a new work

Refrain

A repeated word, line, or group of lines that appears at the end of a stanza

Satire

The use of humour, irony, exaggeration or ridicule to expose and criticise people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues

Soliloquy

A character speaking their thoughts aloud to themselves, often in a play

Stream of consciousness

A person’s thoughts and conscious reactions to events, perceived as a continuous flow.

Style

The way in which an author writes or tells a story

Subtext

An underlying and often distinct theme in a piece of writing or conversation

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language

Tone

Where the writing conveys the attitudes and emotions of the writer towards his / her subjects - created through aspects of language like diction, syntax and rhythm.