English Language Devices

Abstract noun

Words that name things you cannot physically see or touch (something intangible)

Adjective

A word that describes a noun

Adverb

A word or phrase that modifies the meaning of an adjective or verb, expressing manner, space, time or degree

Alliteration

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

allusion

an indirect reference to a concept or theme without explicit mention

anaphora

a word/ phrase which refers to a previously used word/ phrase

antithesis

rhetorical device where contrasting concepts are placed together in a text, typically a sentence, to highlight how opposite they are

archetype

the traditional/ typical idea of a concept

Assonance

Resemblance of sound between syllables of nearby words, arising particularly from the rhyming of two or more stressed vowels, but not consonants.

Asyndetic Listing

A list broken up by commas rather than conjunctions like 'and'

Auditory imagery

Imagery pertaining to sounds, noises, music, or the sense of hearing.

catalyst

a dramatic tool which is used to speed up the plot

Cluster of 3

Three ideas, words or phrases, used closely, to emphasise an idea or point.

Colloquial language

Informal or slang language which sounds like ordinary speech.

Concrete noun

Nouns you can physically see and touch.

Consonance

The recurrence of similar-sounding consonants in close proximity.

Declarative sentence

A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a full stop. It's named appropriately because it declares or states something.

Descriptive Language

Adjectives or adverbs which have been specially chosen, to help a reader see or picture what they are reading

dichotomy

contrast of 2 beings that are opposed or distinctly different

didactic

a moral message, meaning to give instructions

dissonance

discordant combinations of sounds

Direct address

This is when the text addresses the reader personally. This can be done through second person pronoun 'You'.

dramatic irony

when the audience knows information the character doesn’t

Dynamic verb

A verb that shows continued or progressive action on the part of a subject. They occur over a span of time.

Emotive language

Words designed to make the reader feel something and have an emotional response to the text.

epitome

the perfect/ ultimate embodiment of quality

Exclamative sentence

A sentence type used to express surprise about something unexpected or extraordinary.

Extended metaphor

Refers to a comparison between two unlike things that continues throughout a series of sentences in a paragraph, or lines in a poem.

Foil

A character who contrasts another.

Gustatory imagery

Imagery related to the sense of taste.

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims

idealisation

imagining something better than it is in reality

Imperative sentence

Imperative sentences are used to issue a command or instruction, make a request, or offer advice.

Intensifier

A word that is used alongside an adjective to provide emphasis E.g. "very friendly" or "so bright".

interjection

sudden remark, used often as an interruption or aside in the text

Interrogative sentence

An interrogative sentence is a sentence whose grammatical form shows that it is a question.

Irony

A rhetorical device, literary technique, or event which appears, on the surface to be the case, differs radically from what is actually the case.

Juxtaposition

Placement of two ideas closely together to emphasize comparison

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.

Monosyllabic

A word or utterance consisting of one syllable.

moral imperative

an instruction on what is right and wrong

Noun

a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea

Olfactory imagery

Imagery relating to odours, scents, or the sense of smell.

Onomatopoeia

The formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named.

oxymoron

two opposing terms are placed next to each other

pathetic fallacy

a kind of personification in which human emotions are projected onto nature (especially weather) often to create a mood

Personification

The attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form.

Plosives

Denoting a consonant that is produced by stopping the airflow using the lips, teeth, or palate, followed by a sudden release of air.

poetic justice

normally accompanied with some sort of irony or when characters get what they deserve

polysyndetic listing

listing using conjunctions such as “and”

Pronoun

A word that takes the place of a noun

repetition

repeating a word or phrase more than once

Rhetorical Question

A question asked merely for effect with no answer expected.

satire

critising/ making fun out of people/ situations through the use of humour, irony, imitation or exaggeration

semantic field

group of words linked by a theme or topic throughout a text or passage

Sibilance

Sibilance is a more specific type of alliteration that relies on the repetition of soft consonant sounds in words to create a hissing sound in the writing.

Simile

Comparison of one thing with another thing using the words 'like' or as.

Static verb

Verbs that express a state rather than an action. They usually relate to thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses etc.

Symbolism

The use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities.

Synaesthesia

A technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters, or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one sense, like hearing, sight, smell and touch at a given time.

Tactile imagery

Imagery pertaining to physical textures or the sense of touch.

temporal deixis

language which references or manipulates time

temporal references

Past, present, future, and references to specific times in texts

tricolon

3 parallel phrases/ words placed in succession within a text, without interruption

Verb

An action, state or occurance

Visual imagery

Imagery pertaining to graphics, visual scenes, pictures of the sense of sight.

Euphemism

Motif

Literary consonance

Metonymy

Enjambment

caesura