Stylistic Devices for IB English Language and Literature

Alliteration

The repetition of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words

Allusion

An indirect symbolic reference to something, usually a literary or historical person, place or event

Allegory

Texts with a hidden meaning/moral (form of an extended metaphor)

Amplification

Repeating a word or expression while adding more detail to it

Anaphora

The deliberate repetition of a word or phrase at the start of sentences

Anastrophe

The syntactically correct order of subject, verb and object is changed in the sentence

Anecdote

A short and interesting story or an amusing event often proposed to support or demonstrate some point and make readers and listeners laugh

Archaism

Use of words and expressions that have become obsolete in the common speech of an era

Assonance

The repetition of identical or similar vowels in a sequence of nearby words

Antithesis

When two opposites are introduced in the same sentence. It is the juxtaposition of contrasting ideas, usually in a balanced way

Asyndeton

One or several conjunctions are omitted from a series of related clauses

Bathos

A sense of anticlimax so that the subject appears comical or ridiculous

Cacophony

Language that strikes the ear as harsh, rough and unmusical

Catharsis

Emotional discharge through which one can achieve a state of moral or spiritual renewal or achieve a state of liberation from anxiety and stress

Chiasmus

A rhetorical or literary figure in which words or grammatical constructions are repeated in inverted order, in the same or a modified form

Cliche

An expression or action so frequently used that it has become hackneyed or cloying

Colloquialism

The use of informal words, phrases or even slang in a piece of writing

Emotive Language

The use of language that derives or evokes emotions in the audience/reader

Euphemism

An inoffensive expression used in place of a blunt one that is felt to be disagreeable or embarrassing

Euphony

Language which strikes the ear as smooth, pleasant and musical

Idiom

A phrase that has a figurative meaning to it which can be frequently spoken in day to day conversations

Laconic

Using very few words

List of three

The use of 3 nouns listed out.
It is often used to carry out an important message, and can be summarized

Metaphor

A figure of speech in which an expression is used to refer to something that it does not literally denote in order to suggest a similarity

Modals

Verbs used to express obligation, ability, possiblity

Paradox

A statement which seems on its face to be logically contradictory or absurd, yet turns out to be interpretive in a way that makes good sense

Parallelism

The use of components in a sentence that are grammatically same or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter

Prosody

The patterns of rhythm and sound in literature such as alliteration, assonance and onomatopoeia

Personal Pronoun

The grammatical use of words to address other people

Portmanteau

When two or more words are joined together to coin a new word, but always refers to a single concept

Pun

A play on words exploiting the different possible meanings of a word or fact that there are words which sound alike but have different meanings

Satire

A literary art of diminishing or derogating a subject by making it ridiculous and evoking towards it attitudes of amusement

Synthetic Personalization

Addressing mass audiences as though they were individuals through inclusive language

Statistics

Numerical or graphical information or data

Tone

The attitudes being expressed toward the subject and implied toward the audience in a literary work

Simple Irony

The expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect

Dramatic Irony

When the audience understands something about a character's actions or an event but the characters do not

Sophoclean Irony

A speaker's words having one meaning for him and another, significantly different and in some way contrasting, for the audience

Proleptic Irony

Occurs when an earlier event gives the audience foreshadowing of a later event in the play

Literal Text

The text means exactly what it says

Figurative Text

The text doesn't literally mean what it says

Sub-Text

The underlying message of a text that is not explicitly stated or shown

Context

The circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea, and in terms of which it can be fully understood and assessed

Intertext

A literary text that is related to one or more other texts

Periodic Sentence

A sentence that is not grammatically complete until the end

Compound Sentence

Two or more separate clauses connected by a semicolon and coordinating conjunction

Complex Sentence

Formed by adding one or more dependent clauses to the main independent clause using conjunctions and/or relative pronouns

Balanced Sentence

A sentence made up of two parts that are roughly equal in length, importance, and grammatical structure

Non-sentence

A word, clause, or phrase that does not form a complete sentence

Syntax

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

Hook

An opening statement (which is usually the first sentence) in an essay that attempts to grab the reader's attention so that they want to read on

Mood

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

Element, Example, Effect

3 E's of Analysis

Characterization

The way that people are represented in a film, play, or book so that they seem real and natural

Caricature

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

Pathos

An element in experience or in artistic representation evoking pity or compassion

Logos

To appeal to the audiences' sense of reason or logic

Ethos

The character or emotions of a speaker or writer that are expressed in the attempt to persuade an audience