Language & Figurative Devices
A comparison using “like” or “as.”
Simile
A question asked for effect rather than because the composer expects an answer.
Rhetorical question
A story narrated using “I”, “me” and “my.”
First-person narration
Repetition of the same initial consonant sound in nearby words.
Alliteration
The element of an image that attracts the viewer's attention first.
Salience
Giving human characteristics to something non-human.
Personification
Words such as “must” and “will” demonstrate this level of certainty.
High modality
Hints or clues suggesting something that will happen later in a narrative.
Foreshadowing
When a sentence continues beyond the end of a poetic line without punctuation or a pause.
Enjambment
Lines created by gaze, limbs or objects that direct the viewer's attention through an image.
Vectors
The feelings or ideas associated with a word beyond its literal meaning.
Connotation
“We must work together to protect our future.” Identify the technique created by the pronouns.
Inclusive language
Placing two characters, settings or ideas beside one another to emphasise their differences.
Juxtaposition
Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or metre, often resembling natural speech.
Caesura
The arrangement and placement of elements within a visual frame.
Composition/layout
A recurring image, object or idea that reinforces a text's central themes.
Motif
A discrepancy between what is expected and what actually occurs.
Irony
A narrator whose version of events cannot necessarily be trusted.
Unreliable narration
Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or metre, often resembling natural speech.
Free verse
The style and arrangement of written text, including its font, size and weight.
Typography
A text references, echoes or transforms another text to create an additional layer of meaning.
Intertextuality
“You cannot stand by and allow this to continue.” Name TWO techniques operating in this sentence.
Direct address + high modality
A third-person narrative is filtered specifically through one character's consciousness. What is this called?
Focalisation
Repetition of “s”, “sh” or “z” sounds to create effects such as softness or menace.
Sibilance
Video, audio and GIFs integrated into an online text are collectively known as this.
Embedded media