Technical Terms

– a figure of speech, which involves an exaggeration of ideas for emphasis e.g. My suitcase weighs a ton!

– a word or phrase for one thing that is used to refer to another thing in order to show or suggest that they are similar e.g. ‘He was an animal now, for hiding, for attacking, and he lived only to preserve himself and his family.’ (John Steinbeck, The Pearl)

– A simile is a figure of speech that compares two things by using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’ used to make description more vivid e.g. As loud as a lion’s roar. My love is like a red red rose.

– a word which imitates something’s natural sound in order to make the description more expressive and interesting e.g. She awoke to the pitter patter of raindrops on her window.

– A figure of speech where contradictory terms are put together e.g. Seriously funny/An open secret.

– A figure of speech where human characteristics are attributed to animals, objects and ideas e.g The chair groaned as he sat down/The sun plays hide and seek with the clouds.

– A stylistic device in which a number of words, with the same first consonant sound, occur close together in a series e.g. The wild winds whistled through the windows.

– a style of language characteristic of ordinary or familiar conversation rather than formal speech or writing e.g. ‘I reckon I ain’t got nufink left in there’

– To describe the theme of a text is to discuss the overall ideas being examined.

– the mood of a text will be judged by looking at its setting, tone and theme and thinking about how it makes you feel.