OCR A level English literature language devices

Conjunction

A word that joins words, phrases, clauses or sentence.

e.g. but, and, yet, or, because, nor, although, since, unless, while, where

Preposition

Words usually used in front of nouns or pronouns and they show the relationship between the noun or pronoun and other words in a sentence. Can be used to describe a location, time or place

e.g. after, in, to, on, with, over, under

Determiner

Words placed in front of a noun to make it clear what the noun refers to.

e.g. a, the, every.

The demonstrative

A determiner or a pronoun that points to a particular noun or to the noun it replaces. There are four of these in English: the "near" demonstratives 'this' and 'these', and the "far" demonstratives 'that' and 'those'.

Possessive determiner

A type of function word used in front of a noun to express possession or belonging (as in "my phone").

e.g. my, your, his, her, its, our, and their.

Abstract nouns

A noun denoting an idea, quality, or state rather than a concrete object

e.g. truth, danger, happiness.

Concrete noun

A noun that can be identified through one of the five senses (taste, touch, sight, hearing, or smell).

e.g. animals: cats, dog, mouse, rabbit

e.g. places: school, beach, store

e.g. people: teacher, student, sister

e.g. objects: books, tables, car

Personal pronoun

Each of the pronouns in English ( I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, and them ) comprising a set that shows contrasts of person, gender, number, and case.

Impersonal pronoun

the pronoun 'it' when used without definite reference or antecedent

e.g. it was snowing and it seems hard to believe.

Allusion

An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

e.g. a biblical allusion to Adam + Eve

Superlative

(of an adjective or adverb) expressing the highest (upper or lower limit) of a quality (e.g. bravest, most fiercely, the tallest, the smallest, the fastest, the highest).

Verb

An action word

e.g. run, jump, believe

Adverb

A word that describes a verb

e.g. nicely, wonderfully, starkly

Subjunctive verb

Expresses something that you wish for, or a hypothetical rather than actual situation

e.g. If only I were ten years younger.

I only wish that what you say were true.

Modal verb

A verb that expresses necessity or possibility.

e.g. must, shall, will, should, would, can, could, may, and might.

Ambiguity

A word, phrase, or statement which contains more than one meaning. These words or statements lead to vagueness and confusion, and shape the basis for instances of unintentional humor.

Antithesis

A rhetorical device in which two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect.

List of three

Three words or reasons put together in a list

Parallelism/parallel structure

When words or phrases are repeated and agree in both grammar + meaning

e.g. "I came, I saw, I conquered" is an example of parallelism because each phrase begins with I and they all agree grammatically as well as in meaning.

e.g. "And therefore, since I cannot prove a lover

To entertain these fair well-spoken days

I am determined to prove a villain

And hate the idle pleasures of these days"

Emotive

The deliberate choice of words to elicit emotion

e.g. The defenceless wolf was violently attacked by the gruesome bear

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts

e.g. All's fair in love and war.

e.g. Sweet and sour.

Metonymy

When something is used to represent something related to it.

e.g. “the White House” is often used as a metonymy for the presidential administration

e.g. "Plate" can mean an entire plate of food

e.g. "Lend me your ears" is a popular metonymy phrase. It means to give someone their attention.

e.g. "Jeff is a real silver fox!"- This is a metonymy that means that Jeff is an attractive older man.

e.g. "Give me a hand" means to give someone help.

Synecdoche

Part representing a whole.

“All hands on deck!” — uses “hands” to signify the whole sailors.

“I need a headcount by morning,” — uses “head” to represent a whole person.

“Nice wheels!” — uses “wheels” to designate a whole car.

Symbolism

Use of symbols to signify ideas and qualities, by giving them symbolic meanings that are different from their literal sense.

e.g. The color white stands for purity

e.g. black represents evil

e.g. roses stand for romance

e.g. a butterfly symbolizes transformation

e.g. a dog can represent loyalty.

Simile

A comparison using "like" or "as", used to make a description more emphatic or vivid

Figurative language

Writing or speech that is not intended to carry literal meaning and is usually meant to be imaginative and vivid.

e.g. You look like a million bucks,” you’re not saying that they look like a stack of cash. You’re using figurative language to say that they look really good

Imagery

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Personification

The giving of human qualities to an animal, object, or idea

e.g. The run-down house appeared depressed.

e.g. The river swallowed the earth as the water continued to rise higher and higher.

e.g. The thunder grumbled like an old man.

Zoomorphism

Applying animal characteristics to humans or gods

e.g. Richard is described as a boar

Pathetic fallacy

Type of personification that gives human emotions to inanimate objects of NATURE

e.g. weather features reflecting a mood.

Connotation

Associations people make with words that go beyond the literal or dictionary definition.

Atmosphere

Emotions or feelings an author conveys to his readers through description of objects and settings

Antiphrasis

One word irony, established by context

e.g. "Yes, I killed him. I killed him for money-and a woman-and I didn't get the money and I didn't get the woman. Pretty, isn't it..."

Aphorism

An aphorism is a brief saying or phrase that expresses an opinion or makes a statement of wisdom without the flowery language of a proverb.

Aphorisms are often used to teach a lesson while speaking in plain terms.

e.g. "Having nothing, nothing can he lose."

e.g. Actions speak louder than words.

e.g. All for one and one for all.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech sometimes represented by an exclamation, such as "Oh." A writer or speaker, using apostrophe, speaks directly to someone who is not present or is dead, or speaks to an inanimate object.

• Look for “Oh” or “O,” which often signal the speaker is talking to someone or something out of sight.

e.g. "O coward conscience, how dost thou afflict me!"

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds but start with different consonant sounds.

e.g. "Men sell the wedding bells."

Consonance

A literary device in which a non-vowel sound is repeated in words that are in close proximity.

e.g. "All's well that ends well or peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers."

Cacophony

A harsh, discordant mixture of sounds. These words have jarring and dissonant sounds that create a disturbing, objectionable atmosphere.

Cacophony examples often include harsh consonants or hissing sounds. Some of the letters you might see include b, d, g, k, p, s, and t. You’ll also see consonant blends like ch, sh, tch, and others.

e.g. “Out, damned spot! Out, I say!—One, two. Why, then, ’tis time to do ’t. Hell is murky!”

Euphony

Euphony is when words sound beautiful and pleasant when spoken aloud.

Effect: It gives pleasing and soothing effects to the ear due to repeated vowels and smooth consonants.

It can be used with other literary devices like alliteration, assonance and rhyme to create more melodic effects

e.g. "Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises, Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not."

Dialogue

The conversation of characters in a literary work.

Irony

Involves some sort of discrepancy or incongruity between what is expected or understood and what actually happens or is meant. it is used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfillment, and thus, the complexity of experience.

Verbal irony

A figure of speech in which what is said is the opposite of what is meant. Characterized by a discrepancy between what a speaker (or

writer) says and what he or she believes to be true. e.g. "I will not marry yet; and, when I do, I swear it shall be Romeo, whom you know I hate, rather than Paris."

Flashback

An interruption of a play's chronology (timeline) to describe or present an incident that occurred prior to the main time-frame of the play's action.

Dead metaphor

A figure of speech which has lost the original imagery of its meaning due to extensive, repetitive, and popular usage.

e.g. hit the nail on the head

Extended metaphor

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

Digression

A stylistic device authors employ to create a temporary departure from the main subject of the narrative, to focus on apparently unrelated topics, explaining background details.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant.

e.g. He is a special child (disabled or learning challenged).

Dysphemism

A derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one

e.g. "pig", "chicken", "weasel", "sheep", "snake", and "rat".

Farce

A lighthearted comedy that centers around a ridiculous plot that usually involves exaggerated and improbable events. They usually do not have much character development, but instead rely on absurdity, physical humor, and a skillful exploitation of a situation.

Verisimilitude

Likeness to the truth, such as the resemblance of a fictitious work to a real event, even if it is a far-fetched one.

e.g. The Duchess' character based on Giovanna d'Aragona

Ellipsis

A literary device that is used in narratives to omit some parts of a sentence or event. It is usually written between the sentences as a series of three dots, like this: "..."

Syntax

Sentence structure

Anachronism

Anything that is out of time and out of place

Satire

Genre of literature that uses wit for the purpose of social criticism. It ridicules problems in society, government, businesses, and individuals in order to bring attention to certain follies, vices, and abuses, as well as to lead to improvements.

Synesthesia

The description of one kind of sensation in terms of another

e.g. "the silence was as thick as a forest."

Stream of consciousness

A narrative form in which the author writes in a way that mimics or parallels a character's internal thoughts. The style incorporates the natural chaos of thoughts and feelings that occur in any of our minds at any given time.

Bathos

An abrupt turn from the serious and poetic to the regular and silly

Pathos

A quality that evokes pity or sadness

Dialect

The language used by the people of a specific area, class, district, or any other group of people. Involves the spelling, sounds, grammar and pronunciation used by a particular group of people and it distinguishes them from other people around them.

Plosive alliteration

Repetition of 'p', 'b', 'd' and 't' sounds

Fricative Alliteration

Repetition of 'f' , 'ph' and 'v' sounds

Sibilance

Repetition of 's' sounds

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates the sound it represents.

Parenthesis

Insertion of some word or clause in a position that interrupts the normal syntactic flow of the sentence

Pun

A play on words used to convey two meanings at the same time

Anadiplosis

repetition of the last word of one clause at the beginning of the following clause

e.g. "my conscience hath a thousand several tongues, and every tongue brings in a several tale, and every tale condemns me for a villain"

"They call for you: The general who became a slave; the slave who became a gladiator; the gladiator who defied an Emperor."

"Strength through purity, purity through faith."

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses

e.g.

"Our bruised arms hung up for monuments;

Our stern alarums changed to merry meetings;

Our dreadful marches to delightful measures."

"O God! which this blood mad'st, revenge his death;

O earth! which this blood drink'st, revenge his death"

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words

conjuctions = but, and, yet, or, because, nor, although, since, unless, while, where

Polysyndeton

A literary technique in which conjunctions are used repeatedly in quick succession

conjuctions = but, and, yet, or, because, nor, although, since, unless, while, where

Chiasmus

Two corresponding pairs arranged in a parallel inverse order

e.g. "Fair is foul, and foul is fair"

Diacope

Repetition broken up by one or more intervening words

e.g. "Put out the light, and then put out the light"

Epanalepsis

Repetition at the end of a clause of the word that occurred at the beginning of the clause

e.g. "Blood hath brought blood, and blows have anser'd blows"

Epimone

Frequent repetition of a phase or question; dwelling on a point

e.g. "Despair or die!"

"Will I ever be free from this pain? Will I ever find happiness again? Will I ever be able to move on?"

Epistrophe

The repetition of a word at the end of successive clauses or sentences

e.g. "I'll have my bond! Speak not against my bond! I have sworn an oath that I will have my bond."

Hyperbaton

Altering word order, or separation of words that belong together, for emphasis

e.g. "Some rise by sin, and some by virtue fall"

Malapropism

A word humorously misused; an appropriate word is replaced by one with similar sound but inappropriate meaning

e.g. "I was most putrified with astonishment"

e.g. "He's the pineapple of politeness."

Paralepsis

Emphasising a point by seeming to pass over it

"I'm not even going to mention the time you forgot my birthday and didn't get me a present."

In this sentence, the speaker uses paralepsis by claiming not to mention the forgotten birthday, but in doing so, they actually bring attention to it.