Lit & Lang: Approaching Texts Part 2

Definite Article

The

Indefinite Article

A, an

Possessive Determiner

Suggest ownership of a noun (my, your, his)

Demonstrative Determiner

Express a contrast, establishing a close/distant relationship (This week is going slowly)

Indefinite Determiner

All, some, any, no, every, each

Number Determiner

Cardinal: One, two, three Ordinal: First, second, third

Positional Preposition

At, on, opposite

Directional Preposition

Into, past, to

Time Preposition

Before, during, after

Allusion

Refer to other texts/people/events briefly (The apple unbitten-could allude to Adam and Eve)

Antithesis

Placing two words or ideas in opposition to bring about a contrast (Leeds was working class, built on work; Watermouth was bourgeois, built on tourism)

Paradox

A statement though seemingly ridiculous or contradictory contains a truth (I must be cruel to be kind)

Oxymoron

Placing two contrasting words next to each other (bitter sweet)

Juxtaposition

Placing contrasting ideas next to each other

Alliteration

Repetition of letters in two or more words close together at beginning of words.

Sibilance

Repetition of “S”

Plosives

Sounds made by complete closure of the air passage “P” or “T”

Fricatives

Produces a hissing sound “V” or “F”

Assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds (gloopy, oozes, spoon)

Consonance

Repetition of consonants in the middle or end of words (the bitterness of the bite caused fright)

Onomatopoeia

Words which sound like their meaning (snap, crackle, pop)

Elision

When a speaker misses out letters (havin, wanna, shoulda)

Ellipsis

The omission of one or more grammatical elements from a sentence (Going tonight? instead of Are you going tonight?)

Intradiegetic

The narrator is inside the narrative

Extradiegetic

The narrator is not inside the narrative