Extract Analysis & Context
In Bill Bryson's Capri extract, he intentionally avoids describing only what he sees to create atmosphere. What does he appeal to instead?
What are the reader's other senses (sensory details)?
The modern equivalent for the old-fashioned term "looking-glass".
Mirror
A word meaning low, woody bushes or small trees.
Shrub
Doing this in your travel account is listed as the fastest way to make your reader lose interest.
simply describing what you did each day (chronological listing)
The device defined as using two negative words together to express a positive meaning, such as "I don't hate travelling".
litotes
When Dervla Murphy describes "slow travel" via foot or bicycle, what modern issue does she argue it acts as a direct antidote to?
the mental/physical strains of modern technology and convenience
A wind that blows directly in the opposite direction to the way you are moving.
Head-wind
A term describing a small, sheltered coastal bay or inlet.
Cove
The ideal recommended length and structure for an engaging online travel blog.
4 to 5 paragraphs (around 500 words)
A literary device used to swap out uncomfortable, impolite, or harsh words with milder alternatives.
euphemism
How does Dickens structure his descriptions of shipboard seasickness to physically mirror the disorienting motion of the vessel for the reader?
Using long, continuous run-on sentences with multiple commas and semicolons
Openings or holes in the side of a ship designed to allow water to drain off the deck.
Scuppers
Rocks that stick out above the surface of the ground.
Outcrops
The reason why simply identifying and listing literary devices in an analysis is not enough.
because you must explain how they reinforce the atmosphere
The technique of deliberately making a situation sound far less serious than it actually is, serving as the opposite of hyperbole.
Understatement
Dervla Murphy states that in modern times, true isolation on a journey is no longer automatic. How does she categorize isolation today?
"deliberately chosen luxury"
The modern equivalent for the travel item historically known as a "carpet-bag".
Travelling bag
To wander aimlessly or follow a winding, turning path.
Meandered
The primary technique writers use to make an environment feel vivid and real to the reader beyond basic descriptions.
appealing to multiple senses (sensory language)
What is assonance?
The repetition of near-identical vowel sounds close together in a line of text.
In the Capri extract, what effect is intended by isolating the word "what?" inside dashes during the cliffside description?
creating a sudden pause to show the narrator's real-time disorientation or loss for words at the drop
The Roman god of water and seas referenced in nautical travel writing.
Neptune
Meaning dizzy or lightheaded, often caused by looking down from great heights.
Giddy
The essential questions a writer must ask regarding audience before drafting a piece.
who they are writing for, whether to be formal or informal, and what details the reader already knows
The literary technique used when Dickens describes his ship's state-room as "standing on its head"
Hyperbole/personification