English Language Techniques

Enjambment

Definition: To run lines of a poem from one to the next without using a terminating punctuation

Example:

The floor was swept

And strew the rushes rosemary and may

Lay….

Purpose: To create a sense of anticipation in a poem, To control the phrasing or rhythm of a poemTo emphasise a meaningful word, To create ambiguity or contradiction,To create sentences of varied lengths and rhythms.

Polysyndeton

Definition: The repeated use of conjunctions to join clauses or phrases, often where they normally wouldn’t be needed.

Example: Adam Trask grew up in grayness and there were cobwebs and… etc.

Purpose: Puts extra focus on a world, overwhelms the reader for effect, captures the audience’s attention, mimic an unconscious speech patterns, create a childlike effect while also making the text dignified.

Assonance

Definition: When the same vowel sounds are repeated in multiple words.

Example: He eats the sweet treats.

Purpose: Intensifies language, encourages continued attention, interaction of tones, creates a musical rhythm, adds meaning to the words.

Consonance

Definition: The repetition of consonant sounds within words

Example: Mike likes his new bike

Purpose: Makes words memorable, increases the sonic or musical quality of words in a group, encourages readers to pay more attention to the language, special resonance with the meaning of the lines

Alliteration

Definition: Repetition of the same sound at the start of a series of word in succession

Example: Green Grass Grew

Purpose: To draw out the sonic quality of the words, encourages continued attention, slows down the reading process, makes it easier to read, highlights the craft of the language, increases the texture of lines.

Personification VS Metaphor

Difference: Personification focuses on human traits while a metaphor is a broader comparison between two things.

Purpose of Personification: To create memorable images with languages, allowing readers to experience works of literature more vividly, to describe something the author wants to do.

Purpose of Metaphor: To create memorable images with languages, communicate personal or imaginary experiences the reader can relate to, to hide a person’s lack of knowledge.

Pathetic Fallacy

Definition: Human emotions or characteristics are attributed to inanimate objects, nature or animals.

Example: The thunderstorms raged all night.

Purpose: To set a mood or scene, to add a certain emotional quality, craft a vivid and compelling setting, convey the emotional state of a character or narrator, make inanimate objects seem more familiar or relatable.

Allegory

Definition: A story that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.

Example: A blooming garden

Purpose: To address a controversial topic, to make something more interesting or understandable.

Zoomorphism

Definition: Representing a non-human thing with the form of characteristics of an animal.

Example: Growled with wolfish hunger.

Purpose: To create vivid imagery, highlight specific characteristics, covey themes and symbolism, to dehumanise or elevate a subject.

Anthropomorphism

Definition: Attribution of human characteristics, emotions or behaviours to non-human entities like humans, objects or even abstract concepts.

Example: Mickey Mouse

Purpose: To create relatable characters, explain complex concepts, foster empathy and social connection, make stories more engaging.

Hypophora

Definition: Rhetorical device where a speaker asks a question and then immediately answers it themselves.

Purpose: To engage an audience, emphasise key points, clarify complex ideas, address potential concerns, making arguments clear and more persuasive.

Superlative Adjectives

Definition: Describing something as having the highest or lowest degree of quality.

Example: ‘The coldest and whitest extremities.’

Purpose: To highlight uniqueness, to enhance emotions, set a scene, make writing more memorable and engaging.

Types of pronouns

Different Types:

• Personal (I, you, she, he)

• Possessive (mine, yours, his, hers)

• Demonstrative (this, that, those)

• Relative (who, which, that)

• Interrogative (who, what, which)

• Indefinite (everyone, some, none)

• Reflexive (myself, himself, herself)

• Intensive (using reflexive pronouns like myself to emphasise a noun or pronoun)

Stream of Consciousness

Definition: A literary technique that represents a character's thoughts and feelings as they occur in a rapid, continuous flow

Example: ‘The sun, warm on my face, a gentle breeze... remember that day at the beach, the sand hot, the waves crashing... is it lunchtime yet?’

Purpose: To create intimacy between the reader and author, allowing the readers access into the character’s inner thoughts and feelings.

Types of Adjectives

Different Types:

• Descriptive (beautiful, old)

• Quantitative (four, five)

• Demonstrative (this, that)

• Possessive (my, their)

• Interrogative (which, what)

• Compound (well-known)

• Proper (American, French)

Sibilance

Definition: A figure of speech where a hissing sound is created within a group of words through the repetition of "s" sounds.

Example: Sally and Cyrus in San Francisco.

Purpose: Gives language a musical element, emphasises words, to vary the reader’s attention, add a playful quality.

Colloquialism

Definition: The use of informal words or phrases in writing or speech.

Example: Words such as ‘pop' and ‘soda’ are used to refer to soft drinks in the United States.

Purpose: To create realistic voices, to express a writer’s way of thinking and to capture their way of speaking on stage.

Narrative Perspectives

Types:

• First Person (using ‘i’)

• Second Person (using ‘you’)

• Third Person (using ‘he’, ‘she’ or ‘they’)

Structural Techniques

Types of Structural Techniques:

• Enjambment: Lines running together

• Caesura: A pause within a line

• Irregular Stanzas: Lack a consistent pattern, no consistent rhyme, expresses varied emotions

• Regular Stanzas: Uniform structure,

Cause and Effect

Definition: The cause and effect technique identifies the reasons an event happened (the cause) and the results that followed (the effect).

Example: "When fabrics are exposed to friction... the plastic in them breaks up into tiny strands called micro-fibres."

Purpose: To analyse and and explain why things happened what happens as a result, helps readers organise ideas and demonstrate complex relationships.

Antithesis

Definition: A specific type of juxtaposition that involves comparing two direct, opposing ideas to emphasise their contrast.

Example: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind

Purpose: To create emphasis, highlight differences and create rhythm/harmony.

Pathos, Ethos, Logos

Pathos Definition: Pathos is an argument that appeals to an audience's emotions.

Example: Charity Advertisements

Ethos Definition: Ethos is an argument that appeals to the audience by emphasising the speaker's credibility and authority.

Example: Doctors endorsing health products,

Logos Definition: Logos is an argument that appeals to an audience's sense of logic or reason.

Example: Using scientific studies to prove a point.

Jargon

Definition: Occupation-specific language used by people in a given profession.

Example: Diagnosis (Used in Medial Professions)
Purpose: To communicate complex, unique ideas to the reader, reinforcing group identity.

Types of Connotations

Different Types:

• Positive (joyful, calm)

• Neutral (vehicle, house)

• Negative (lazy, arrogrant)

Definition: A self-contradictory statement or scenario that challenges conventional thinking

Example: ‘It was the beginning of the end.’

Purpose: To reveal a, often ironic, truth, to challenge contradictory thinking and highlight the complexity of a situation.

Anaphora

Definition: repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect

Example: ‘My life is my purpose. My life is my goal. My life is my inspiration."

Purpose: To create rhythm and emotional impact, makes the message more memorable, to highlight key ideas.