Language

1. Alliteration: words with the same starting letter near each other: “Pass Peter the
pen”. Alliteration emphasises what is being said and makes it easy to say.
2. Adjectival phrase: When a phrase or clause begins with an adjective “Humbled, I
stand here before you today.” – Barack Obama. Adjectival phrases set the emotional
tone for the rest of the extract and gives insight into the mind of the speaker.
3. Appositive: nouns which modify nouns to create imagery. “His red iron hand fired
white neon plasma”. This description of Ironman is descriptive - without using any
adjectives. Appositives create very specific imagery for the reader.
4. Foreshadowing: implying something will happen near the end. “You don’t let
another man shoot your dog George” – Candy. Foreshadowing builds anticipation.
5. Hamartia: The tragic flaw in a character that leads to their downfall. Macbeth
says his hamartia is “Vaulting ambition”. The hamartia in question lays out a clear moral
message from the story to the audience/reader.
6. Hyperbole: an exaggerated statement. Mr Khan is the greatest English teacher
in the world. The exaggeration gets across the emotion intended by the
speaker/writer by being over the top.
7. Dramatic irony: When the audience knows something a character does not. “noble
hostess” – King Duncan says this to Lady Macbeth- who wishes him dead. It builds
tension as the audience will want to know how the situation will be resolved. It also
engages the audience because it makes them more knowledgeable than a character.
8. Metaphor: saying something is something it can’t literally be: Juliet is the sun –
Romeo and Juliet. This creates imaginative imagery for the reader, engaging them.
9. Simile: saying something is like something else Juliet is like the sun.
10. Oxymoron: when words of opposing ideas are together: Cold fire, dry water. An
oxymoron makes the reader confused and want to read on for clarification.
11. Participle: Verbs which are used as adjectives. Participles make the text become
active rather than just using adjectives and therefore engage the reader more:The
crumbling cake sounds more active than if we use an adjective: the greasy cake.
12. Pathetic fallacy: Using the weather to set the scene. “Thunder and lightning!” –
Macbeth. Pathetic fallacy sets the tone for the upcoming scene.
13. Personification: Giving human characteristics to something non-human. “the trees
stood and watched” Personification makes the entire text come alive & seem magical.
14. Zoomorphism giving animal characteristics to something not an animal.
15. Rhetorical question. Asking a question you don’t expect an answer to. It clarifies
who is in charge in the conversation. Are there no prisons? – Ebenezer Scrooge
16. Hypophora: Asking a question and then answering it yourself. Leads the
conversation and implants an idea in the audiences mind. “Nobody wants war, except
some half-civilized folks in the Balkans. And why? There's too much at stake these
days. Everything to lose and nothing to gain by war.” – Mr Birling