English Language Features

DIE

Alliteration

Repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of words – usually close in succession.

Having heard the song, he sang it softly. 

There came a ghost to Mary’s door 

With many a grievous groan. 

Allusion

A reference to another work/place/person.

“It’ll be just like Jersey Shore.”

Anaphora

Repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses especially for rhetorical or poetic effect.

“Run far, run fast.” 

Enjambment

The leap and movement between lines of a poem when there isn’t any hard punctuation (e.g. fullstop or comma)

To be, or not to be—that is the question: 

Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer       

  The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune 

Emotive Language

Choice of words which have specifically intended emotional effects or are intended to evoke an emotional response in the reader.

There was a clammy self-congratulating illiteracy of the heart drooling from every word. 

Diction (Choice of words)

Using more unusual or specialized or technical words

(George Orwell 1984 newspeak, or any Shakespearean play)

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration of a expression

I’ve told you thousands of times to clean up your bedroom. 

Juxtaposition

Using words or phrases of opposite meaning close together. 

In a city that never sleeps, she seems to be trying to keep us awake. 

Metaphor

An image which compares two things without using like or as

The fireworks were sparkling flowers exploding in the night sky. 

Personification

An image which gives human qualities to non-human things.

Raindrops danced on the pavement. 

Pun

Word play involving the use of a word with two different meanings or two words that sound the same but mean different things.

An advert for an omega-3 margarine has this statement: The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.

Repetition

Repeating the same or nearly the same words for effect.

“Come on, Come on!” she shouted.  “We’re late!” 

Sound Clusters

A group of sounds is repeated throughout a sentence or a group of lines in a poem, not just at the beginnings of words. 

I love to see the cottage smoke curl upwards through the trees. 

Simile

An image which compares two things using like or as

The playground was as empty as a ghost town. 

Symbolism

Use of an object (concrete noun) to represent some emotion or belief system or other abstract noun.

Symbols like hearts represent love, skull and crossbones usually mean death, and author / character specific symbolism are built using the story and context mediums.

Colloquial Language

Informal language or casual forms of communication in the written form. This can include shortened versions of words or specific phrases.

“Ya’ll gonna wanna step aside there kiddo.”

Irony

When words or ideas are used in a sarcastic or humorous way to imply the direct opposite of what they mean.

“The blind, leading the blind.”

Onomatopoeia

Using words that when pronounced sound like the sound described in context.

“Bang! Clap! Zap!”

Oxymoron

When two words that are typically not associated with one another are used together.

The ending of the movie was bitter-sweet.

Anecdote

An engaging, personal story or tale that is often used to develop certain ideas in a text or add depth and personality to characters.

Consonance

Repetition of consonants throughout a sentence or phrase. Consonant sounds are often harsh and abrupt and so can be used to create a coarse, grating tone in a text.

The car tore through the street at an alarming speed.