AQA GCSE English Linguistic Devices/Techniques

• Allegory


  Something symbolic, an allegory can often be a story that represents larger things, like the tortoise and the hare
• Allusion


  Referring to something well known, nowadays that could be a celebrity but it could be anything that fits the context of the poem (Shakespeare will make very old allusions we may not understand)
• Ambiguity/Ambiguous


  A word or idea meaning more than one thing to provoke thought
• Analogy


  Compare something unfamiliar with something familiar to help people understand
• Cliché


  Something which is used a great amount and becomes expected or even cheesy, "raining cats and dogs"
• Connotation/Connote


  The associations with a word e.g. Rose—Love and Passion
• Contrast


  Closely placed ideas which are opposites or very different. 'He had cold eyes but a warm heart'
• Denotation/Denote


  The literal definition fo something without reading too deeply into it
• Euphemism


  Where something distasteful is said in a more acceptable way 'she is at peace'- she is dead
• Hyperbole


  An over the top exaggeration for effect
• Irony


  Deliberate use of a false or misleading statement in such a way that the truth is apparent. "Wow dead flow-ers, what I always wanted…"
• Metaphor


  Direct comparison of two things. States one thing is or acts as another without using words 'like' or 'as'
• Oxymoron


  Two words placed together with differing meanings to create a new meaning 'bitter sweet'
• Paradox


  A situation or statement which contradicts itself. 'the taller I get the shorter I become'
• Personification


  Describing an inanimate object or animal with human qualities
• Pun


  Using words with multiple meanings while intending both, often used for comic effect
• Simile


  Comparing two or more objects with words 'like' or 'as'
• Alliteration


  Words beginning with same letter sounds to create a notably emphasis on words "dark dreary dreams"
• Assonance


  Like alliteration, the sounds of assonance come from within the word rather than the start "Fearful tears of misery" (emphasis on the e-a-s sounds)
• Consonance


  Consonant sounds at the end of words "wet set of regrets"
• Cacophony


  Harsh sounds in order to make a discordant sound. "dark knuckles wrapping across bricks" (often Ks, Ts, Cks)
• Onomatopoeia


  Words which sound like the effect they describe "splash, slap, crack"
• Repetition


  Repeating words over a verse, stanza or poem to draw focus and add emphasis
• Rhyme


  Words with similar ending sounds creating a music like effect or flow "theme/stream/dream"
• Rhythm


  Organisation of words to create a noticeable sound or pace, not necessarily musical but with a clear 'beat'. Can include the structure of the work and is often measured in syllables
• Verse


  A line of a poem, needn't be a complete sentence
• Stanza


  A collection of verses similar to a paragraph, separated from other stanzas
• Rhetorical Question


  A Question intended to provoke thought without expecting an answer
• Rhyme Scheme


  • Alternate rhymes (abab)
  • Cross rhyme (abba)
  • Couplets (aabb)
• Enjambment


  A sentence or on-going piece of text carried over verses or stanzas to continue the spoken effect without pause
• Form


  • Open (no real pattern of rhyme or length)
  • Closed (follows a specific form or pattern)
  • Couplets (pairs of rhyming lines)
  • Quatrains (stanzas of 4 lines, often rhyming)
  • Blank verse (iambic pentameter with not consistent rhyme)
• Fixed Forms


  • Sonnets (3 quatrains and a couplet)
  • Ballads (large poems in quatrains often telling a story)
• Pathetic Fallacy


  Using weather or environment to reflect the themes and contexts of the poem
• Foreshadowing


  Content in the poem which gives an indication of the direction the poem will take, allows people to guess what will happen or the poet to prepare the reader
• • Sensory Imagery– where the language is used to evoke the senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, sound), can often
  • include tactile (touch based) or musical (sound based) language.
  • Synaesthesia– The overlapping and blending of senses ’he had a soft smile’ or ’she had a fiery voice’
  • Tone/Mood– The way a poem or speaker is intended to sound, often suggested by the topic, content and structure
  • This can be very subjective and is often determined by looking at the poem in its entirety.