Linguistic Terminology and Close Analysis of Techniques

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering sound patterning devices, grammatical features, sentence structures, and general literary terminology, along with close analysis applications.

Close Analysis of Techniques

An analytical approach focused on examining specific quotations to identify the precise linguistic or structural technique used and evaluate its effect on the reader.

Sibilance

A sound patterning device characterized by repeated S sounds (e.g., 'the slithering snake' or 'the silver sea shimmered') that can create a whispering, soothing, or creepy effect.

Plosives

A sound patterning device featuring P or B sounds (e.g., 'pressing the point') that can suggest anger or force.

Dentals

A sound patterning device using D or T sounds (e.g., 'a done deal' or 'the tortoise trudged determinedly'), creating hard sounds that give a sense of finality.

Fricatives

A sound patterning device featuring F, V, or TH sounds (e.g., 'The feathers drifted through the thin mist.') that can offer a soft, whispering quality, airiness, lightness, or intimacy.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds within a sentence or phrase (e.g., 'bright skies light. My eyes'), which can add musicality to writing and emphasise a particular rhythm or tone.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds at the start or within words (e.g., 'he struck a streak of bad luck'), where different letter sounds produce varying effects, such as soft 'l' sounds compared to hard 'k' sounds.

Alliteration

A sound patterning device where words begin with the same sound (e.g., 'great glass-green dragonflies'), normally used to emphasise or demonstrate a link between two or more words.

Verb

A grammatical feature that reveals action; for example, 'wander' reveals action while suggesting aimlessness or freedom.

Modifier / Adjective

A grammatical feature that highlights qualities of an object; for example, 'apricot-coloured' highlights the luxurious nature of the object.

Passive construction

A grammatical structure (e.g., 'Marked by the weather and rain.') showing that an action has been done to something else rather than being active.

Embedded clause

A clause placed inside a sentence (e.g., 'I could see, or I thought I could see, the man emerging from the house.') that adds extra information and modifies the sentence.

Present participle

A verb form ending in -ing, sometimes called a gerund (e.g., 'The pages were unfolding rapidly.' or 'thrusting their leaves'), that can suggest movement in process.

Pluperfect tense

A grammatical tense (e.g., 'It had been an impressive building.') used to show that an action or state is lodged deeper in the past.

Short sentence

A concise sentence structure (e.g., 'It was over.') used to produce an abrupt, brittle tone, a fast pace, or a sense of tension.

Nominal sentence

A sentence containing no verb (e.g., 'Snow on the mountaintop.'), which can suggest inertia or a lack of movement.

Complex sentence

A sentence containing many clauses that can convey reminiscence, create a slow pace, or represent a collection of complex or detailed thoughts.

Polysyndetic sentence

A sentence structure in which clauses are separated by conjunctions, often the word 'and' (e.g., Maya Angelou in 'Why the Caged Bird Sings': “Let the whitefolks have their money and power and segregation and sarcasm and big houses and schools and lawns like carpets, and books…”), adding a sense of speed or urgency.

Asyndetic sentence

A sentence structure in which clauses are separated by commas rather than conjunctions (e.g., “He was a bag of bones, a floppy doll, a broken stick, a maniac.”), used to give a sense of quantity or frequency.

Anaphora

A rhetorical device that involves repeating the words used at the start of a line or sentence (e.g., 'Tell him that I can’t. Tell him it is too difficult right now. Tell him I’m sorry.').

Apostrophe

A rhetorical figure of speech in which someone or something is addressed directly (e.g., “Frailty, thy name is woman.”).

Motif

A recurrent image that carries symbolic meaning across a literary work (e.g., blood in 'Macbeth').

Synecdoche

A figure of speech in which a part is substituted for the whole (e.g., 'Lend me a hand').

Anthropomorphism

Giving or applying human characteristics to something non-human (e.g., describing the moon as a woman, or 'The whispering leaves').

Denouement

The resolution or ending of a play or novel (e.g., Romeo and Juliet’s deaths).

Aporia

A rhetorical device expressing a state of doubt, feeling puzzled, deliberate omission, or missing out words or ideas (e.g., “To be, or not to be: that is the question.”).