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    English Techniques

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    Leeza
    This document defines and provides examples of various English literary techniques. It includes definitions for 50 different techniques such as allegory, allusion, ambiguity, analogy, anecdote, antithesis, apostrophe, archetype, assonance, and bathos. Each term is concisely defined, with some examples provided to illustrate how the technique is used. The document serves as a comprehensive reference guide for many common literary techniques found in English literature and writing.

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    English Techniques

    Uploaded by

    Leeza
    219 views4 pages
    This document defines and provides examples of various English literary techniques. It includes definitions for 50 different techniques such as allegory, allusion, ambiguity, analogy, anecdote, antithesis, apostrophe, archetype, assonance, and bathos. Each term is concisely defined, with some examples provided to illustrate how the technique is used. The document serves as a comprehensive reference guide for many common literary techniques found in English literature and writing.

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    This document defines and provides examples of various English literary techniques. It includes definitions for 50 different techniques such as allegory, allusion, ambiguity, analogy, anecdote, antithesis, apostrophe, archetype, assonance, and bathos. Each term is concisely defined, with some examples provided to illustrate how the technique is used. The document serves as a comprehensive reference guide for many common literary techniques found in English literature and writing.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    219 views4 pages

    English Techniques

    Uploaded by

    Leeza
    This document defines and provides examples of various English literary techniques. It includes definitions for 50 different techniques such as allegory, allusion, ambiguity, analogy, anecdote, antithesis, apostrophe, archetype, assonance, and bathos. Each term is concisely defined, with some examples provided to illustrate how the technique is used. The document serves as a comprehensive reference guide for many common literary techniques found in English literature and writing.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 4

    English Techniques

    Allegory: Story with a double meaning

    Allusion: Subtle or indirect reference to another thing, text, period or belief. Different types of
    allusion include historical, literary, religious or mythological

    Alliteration: Repetition of sounds at the start of words in close proximity.

    Ambiguity: A statement which lacks a clear meaning or contains more than one meaning and
    it leads to confusion, uncertainty or tension throughout.

    Analogy: Comparison of two ideas or things for the purpose of explanation or clarification.
    Eg. Life is like a box of chocolates.

    Anaphora: The repetition of beginning words of neighbouring successive clauses. Eg. Be


    Bold. Be brief. Be gone

    Anecdote: A personal story or recount to demonstrate personal trait or personality.

    Anomaly: Something which deviates from what is normal or expected

    Antithesis: Two opposite ideas are put together in a sentence to achieve a contrasting effect 

    Anthropomorphism: The act of attributing human qualities to a non-human figure.

    Apostrophe (Language Technique): A speech by a character to a person who is not present


    or to a personified object. Eg. “Hamlet talking to the Ghost”

    Apostrophe: Rhetorical punctuation device which can be used to show possession or


    represents a missing letter.

    Archetype: Recurring symbol or motif throughout literature that represents universal patterns
    of human nature.

    Assonance: Repetition of similar vowel sounds which can occur anywhere in the word. Eg.
    Clap your hands and stamp your feet.

    Axiom: A statement accepted as true as the basis for argument

    Bathos - Sudden change in speech or writing from a serious subject to an ordinary one 

    Cacophany - Use of words with loud, hard sounds for a noisy or jarring effect 

    Catalyst - Someone or something which brings a big change 

    Cliché: An overused common phrase, expression or idea which sometimes can lose its
    original meaning or become irritating. Eg. Brave as a lion

    Consonance: Repetition of consonants throughout a sentence or phrase.

    Contrast: Deliberate positioning of two or more objects/events/characters who have different


    characteristics.
    Citharsas - Process of releasing strong emotions primarily through art. 

    Colloquial: Non-formal language or speech

    Connotation: Use of a word which implies a different meaning from the thing which it
    describes explicitly. Eg. “She’s feeling blue”

    Couplet: Pair of successive lines of verse

    Denotation: The literal or explicit meaning of a word

    Dialect: A form of English spoken by a particular group of people.

    Diction: The choice or use of words in speeches or writing

    Didactic: Any text that instructs the reader or is obviously delivering a moral message.

    Dramatic Irony - A form of irony in which the audience is aware of a situation or what is going
    but the characters are unaware of it.

    Dystopian: An imagined society that is undesirable and frightening with suffering.

    Elipsis: Dot, dot, dot. Series of dots which indicates intentional omission of a word, phrase or
    line.

    Emotive Language: Words that impact or stir the reader's emotions.

    Epiphany: Moment of sudden realisation or insight which changes a character’s


    understanding of themselves or the world around them.

    Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase beyond the end of a line or stanza
    without a pause. It usually disrupts the flow or poem or contrasts distinct images or ideas.

    Euphemism: Mild expression used to replace harsh, impolite or unpleasant phrases.

    Foil (Character Foil) – A character who contrasts with another character due to opposite
    traits.

    Foreshadowing: An allusion to something that will happen later in the narrative.

    Hamartia - Fatal flaw in protagonist which leads to his/her downfall.

    Hyperbole: A literary term of exaggeration.

    Idiom: A phrase or figure of speech which has different meaning than the literal translation of
    the words. Eg. Let's call it a day.

    Imperative - Sentence which gives instructions, command, order or advice

    Litote - Understatement in which a positive statement is expressed by negating its opposite. 


    Jargon - Specialized terms used phrases and words in a particular situation, profession or
    trade

    Juxtaposition: Layering images/scenes to have a dramatic impact.

    Metaphor: Comparison of two or more objects where one becomes another - adds further
    layers of meaning about the object being compared.

    Metonymy - Figure of speech which replaces a term with another word which is closely
    associated with it. 

    Motif: Recurring symbol with a figurative meaning.

    Modality (High modality): Persuasive strong words which eliminate uncertainty using words
    like ‘always’

    Monologue: Long speech by a character

    Onomatopoeia: A word that echoes the sound it represents.

    Oxymoron: Phrase pairing words together that are opposing and contradictory. Eg.
    Deafening silence

    Paradox: A statement that is self-contradictory or logically unacceptable but has valid


    reasoning based on a true premise.

    Paradigm - Distinct set of concepts, values or thought patterns

    Pathetic Fallacy: Attribution of human emotions to nonhuman objects, particularly object of


    nature or weather.

    Pathos: Convince the audience by creating an emotional response and impacting them
    emotionally

    Personification: Human characteristics given to a non-human object

    Rhetoric: Persuasive or effective language used in writing or speaking to inform, persuade or


    motivate

    Sarcastic: Phrases which mock – saying something different than what they actually mean

    Soliloquy: Speaking out loud one’s thoughts to the audience

    Sonnet: One-stanza, 14-line poem

    Sibilance: It is the repetition of soft consonant sounds like "s" sounds and it creates a sinister
    mood or tone.

    Syntax: The arrangement of words, phrases or rules forming a proper structural sentence.

    Synecdoche - Figure of speech in which a part of something is used to signify the whole or
    vice versa. 
    Tautology: An expression or phrase that says the same thing twice.

    Utopian: Idealistic world with perfect qualities

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