English Literary Devices: Syntax, Semantics, and Rhetorical Strategies

Lexical word choices

using specific words to make a sentence sound better. - "I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer, and before I die, I feel it my duty to pass on to you such wisdom as I have acquired." uses words like comrades, shall, duty to pass on, acquired. If he didnt use this it woud be "i dont think that i will be with you for much longer, before i die i feel that i have ti give you the wisdom that i have gained.

Parallelism

when the structure of the sentence is the same on both sides - "All men are enemies. All animals are comrades."

Antithesis

Putting 2 opposite meanings or words next to each other - "All men are enemies. All animals are comrades"

Sentence types

simple eg. molly is working, compound eg. molly is working and kia is not , complex eg. molly is working because she missed a lot of school. /imperative (commands), exclamatives (emotion), interrogative (questions), declarative (statement)

Pragmatic implicature

a hidden meaning behind someones words or making the audience read between the lines. eg. sir saying i'm just helping darnell which means that he will help me once he is done. He never physically said that but i imply what he means.

Euphemisms

Making harsh or taboo words sound better or more appropriate. Eg. "I do not think, comrades, that I shall be with you for many months longer" instead of i think i will die soon

Allegory

when a story, charecter or symbols represent a deeper meaning, usually political. eg. Old major representing Karl Marx

Syntax

Sentence types and sentence structures and the order of words

Semantics

what the words and sentences actually mean