Senior Language and Literary Terms

File this reference list. It is for use during Years 12 and 13. It is comprehensive but not complete.
You may add to it as the year progresses.
Sound Devices

Term Definition/ Example Your Example

alliteration The repetition of consonant
sounds, especially the initial
consonant, within a line of
poetry or prose, ‘the fair
breeze, blew, the white foam
flew’.
assonance The repetition of vowel sounds
without the addition of the
same consonant sounds
(which would make it rhyme),
‘A stitch in time saves nine’.
consonance The deliberate repetition of
similar consonant sounds (not
just the initial sound) within a
line, ‘the knot tightened’.
onomatopoeia Where the sounds of a word
mimics its meaning, ‘bang’,
‘cuckoo’, ‘whisper’.
sibilance Consonance of ‘s’sounds,
‘the grass rustled in the
breeze’.

Poetic Forms

couplet A pair of rhymed lines, often used by Shakespeare at the end of a speech (and
his sonnets), in order to convey something important
sonnet A lyric poem written in a single stanza which consists of 14 iambic pentameter
lines linked by an intricate rhyme scheme. The rhyme usually follows one of
two main patterns: (1) the Italian or Petrachan sonnet which is in two sections,
an octave of 8 lines rhyming a b b a a b b a and a sestet of 6 lines rhyming c d
e c d e. (2) The Shakespearean sonnet is divided into 3 quatrains (4 lines) with
a concluding couplet: a b a b c d c d e f e f g g.
stanza The grouping of the verse-lines of a poem, set off by a space in the printed
text.
verse Any work written in meter, ie with a recognisable pattern of stressed and
unstressed syllables
free verse Has rhythm but does not have a regular syllabic stress pattern. It also has
irregular line lengths and lacks rhyme.
end-stopped When the end of a clause of syntactic unit coincides with the end of a line of
lines poetry.
caesura A deliberate strong pause or break within a line of poetry.
blank verse Lines of iambic pentameterwhich do not rhyme. It is the closest of all verse
forms to the natural rhythms of English speech and one of the most frequently
used types of verse.
enjambment Run-on lines, where the sense of one line runs into another without pause.
Imagery
When a writer succeeds with words, it is often because a suitable image or picture has been
created in our imagination. This imagery may appeal to our intellect as a clever idea, but more
often it may have stimulated our sense of taste, smell, sight, hearing or touch. This language is
often called figurative, in contrast to literal language. While the literal meaning of a word refers to
its dictionary or basic definition, figurative language derives its name from the use of figures of
speech.

The real test for the English student is not just to be able to recognise figures of speech, but to be
able to comment on their effectiveness.

TERM DEFINITION / EXAMPLE YOUR EXAMPLE

allusion A reference to a well-known
person, place or thing, ‘He
smiled, certainly, but it was
the smile of the Gestapo’.
hyperbole A deliberate exaggeration for
dramatic effect, ‘All the
perfumes of Arabia will not
sweeten this little hand’.
metaphor A comparison without using
‘like’ or ‘as’. This is a hidden
comparison, ‘The shed is an
island of light and warmth’.
mixed A combination of two
metaphor metaphors within one
statement which creates
confusion or are incongruous,
‘The seeds of rebellion are
kindled in secret’.
oxymoron A contradiction in two words,
eg ‘parting is such sweet
sorrow’.
personification A form of metaphor in which
something non-human is
associated with or given
human characteristics,
‘Slowly, silently now the
moon/walks the night in her
silver shawl’.
pun A play on words that are
similar in sound, but have
different meanings, ‘When I
am dead, I hope it might be
said: His sins were scarlet but
his books were read’.
simile A comparison of one thing
with another, introduced by
‘like’ or ‘as’, ‘In the rain the
cows were shiny as rocks in
the ebbing tide’.
synecdoche A form of metaphor in which a
part of something is used to
signify the whole, ‘All hands
on deck’.
transferred The transferral of an adjective
epithet or adverb from the word with
which it naturally goes to
another with which it is
associated, ‘Melissa shook
her doubtful curls’.
Parts of Speech
Nouns are any word that defines a person, place, or thing.
Nouns give names to:
Concrete things: Carlos lost his keys.
Abstract qualities: She says I lack sensitivity.
Feelings: It causes me pain me to hear you say that.
Actions: Parking can be difficult in town.
People: Steve Brown is our coach.
Animals: What kind of bear is that?
Places: Wellington College is situated in the city by the Basin Reserve.
Proper Nouns have capitals.

Pronouns are words that take the place of nouns.

Singular personal pronouns: I, me, you, he, him, she, her, it
Plural personal pronouns: we, us, you, they, them
Example: John borrowed a book from Sylvia = He borrowed it from her.
Possessive Pronouns are personal pronouns that show ownership or possession.
Singular possessive pronouns: my, mine, your, yours, his, her, hers, its
Plural possessive pronouns: our, ours, your, yours, their, theirs

Demonstrative Pronouns call attention to the noun they refer to.

Singular demonstrative pronouns: this, that
Plural demonstrative pronouns: these, those

Example: The yellow car is his = That is his car.

Adjectives are words that are used to modify a noun.
Example: green grass (the adjective "green" describes the noun "grass")
Verbs convey an action or a state.
Every complete sentence has a finiteverb.

Active and passive voice The active voice is where the subject does the verb.
The dog bites the man.
The passive voice is where the subject ‘undergoes’ the verb,
The man is bitten bythe dog.
The passive voice is often used in sports commentaries, The ball is thrown by…Collinge.
The three principal verb forms are the present tense , the past tense, and the past participle.
(The present participle or "-ing" form is sometimes considered a fourth principal part.)
Present Tense indicates an action in the present:
Now the class begins. She walks to class.
Past Tense indicates an action that occurred in the past:
We wantedto see the show. The little girl blew a bubble.
Imperative This is the command form of a verb and is generally followed by an exclamation mark.
Sit down and stop making that noise!

Auxiliary verbs are verbs that are used to help form verb phrases but cannot do so independently.
They combine with the present or past participle to form the verb.
You are kicking.
You were kicking.
You have been kicking. The cake is baking slowly.
The trees were waving back and forth

Adverbsmodify the verb, by telling how, why, when or where the action was done. Many end with
‘ly’,
He smiled sweetly,
We shall come soon.

Conjunctionsjoin words, phrases, and sentences. There are two kinds:

co-ordinating: joining together two main clauses in a sentence – and, but, so, then
sub-ordinating: joining a dependent clause to the clause on which it is dependent - although,
because, unless, before, when, until, as, if, while.

Prepositions show the relationship of one word to another, in terms of time and place,
I live in Wellington. Includes words like: on, under, below, above, beneath, at, up, down, by,
alongside, through, against, of, near, from.

Interjections express sudden emotion and are followed by an exclamation mark, eg Well done!
Hurray! Oh no!
Sentence Types
Simple sentenceshave only one independent clause. The sentence must be limited to one
subject and one predicate. The sentence may contain modifying words or phrases: “The shop
closes at 5.30.” “He wants a red sports car.” .
Compound sentences are composed of two or more independent clauses, which are joined by a
coordinating conjunction or a semicolon.
“The shop closes at 5.30 so you had better get a move on.”
“He wants a red sports car but he can’t afford it.”
Complex sentences use one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses: When he
has saved enough money, he will buy a red sports car.”. ("When he..” is a dependent clause, "he
will buy ..” is an independent clause.)
The compound-complex sentence joins a compound and a complex sentence together. It should
contain two or more independent clauses and one or more dependent clause: “Although he can’t
afford it and his parents don’t approve, he is determined to buy a red sports car.”
The loose sentence has its main statement first
I went to the movies although it was cold, I felt sick and had no one to go with.

The periodic sentence has its main statement last

Although it was cold, I felt sick and had no one to go with, I went to the movies.

In the balanced sentence the parts are carefully weighed against each other

There is a great deal of difference between the eager man who wants to read a book and a tired
man who wants a book to read.
General Literary Terms

black humour The use of inept characters in a, nightmarish world in which the events are
simultaneously comic, brutal, horrifying and absurd
cliche A well worn phrase (can include foreign phrases)
connotation The range of significances and feelings a word implies. eg. ‘home’ denotes the
place where one lives, but connotes privacy, intimacy, warmth, love, cosiness.
denotation The dictionary definition of a word
diction The particular words chosen by the writer or speaker
elegy A formal and sustained lament for the death of someone,
euphemism A roundabout, or less colloquial term used in place of a blunt term for something
disagreeable. They are commonly used in reference to death eg ‘to pass away’,
bodily functions and sex.
irony A difference between what is asserted and what is actually the case, often for a
humourous effect
objective When an author presents a situation or characters without commenting on them
parody A type of imitation; an author imitates the material or manner of a particular work
or author with the intention of being funny
point of view Is the way a story is told. There are two main ways: third-person and first-
person. In a third-person narrative, the narrator is someone outside the story
who refers to the characters by name, or as ‘he’, ‘she’, ‘they’ In a first-person
narrative, the narrator speaks as ‘I’, and is a character in the story. It is,
therefore, a limited point of view in comparison to third-person.
sarcasm Is a form of irony where praise is used to disparage or put down.
satire The art of belittling something by making it ridiculous and evoking feelings of
amusement, contempt, indignation or scorn.
soliloquy In drama it is the convention of a character, alone on stage, thinking aloud. It is a
way for the playwright to directly convey to the audience information about a
character’s motives, intentions and state of mind.
stream of A mode of narration which tries to show the character’s mental process, so that
conscious- there is no clear delineation between conscious and unconscious perceptions,
ness memories, expectations, feelings and random associations.
subjective Where the author’s or character’s views on issues are conveyed.
tone Is the writer or speaker’s attitude to the subject or the reader or listener.

Effect
Writers have a purpose in mind when they set out to write something and often they utilise
particular literary or syntactical devices in order to make a point, or give it more emphasis. These
things create an overall effect. In analysing literature and language at a senior level you are
expected to be able to discuss the effect of a device, not merely identify it.