Textual Form and Features
Textual features: language features
Alliteration when the poet uses the same consonant letter at the beginning of a number of words placed close together e.g. dark plastic skeleton dangling near my French doors. Apostrophe addressing an inanimate object or a dead person as if they were alive e.g. ‘Death be not proud though some have called thee mighty’(Donne, J in Favourite verse (1999) Hurford, C (Ed), Parragon, Bath. p.450) Assonance when the poet repeats the same vowel sound in a number of words placed closely together. e.g. Billy’s pen hit the desk and it ricocheted into the window. Consonance repeating the consonant anywhere in a number of words e.g. Deadly destruction of the world. Hyperbole dramatic exaggeration e.g. I am so hungry I could eat a horse. Imagery graphic pictures created by colourful language features e.g. Algae lie still and bloated on the top. Imperative Voice forceful verbs, ordering someone to do something e.g. Open your mind to injustice. Irony saying one thing but meaning another e.g. War doesn’t hurt anyone. Metaphor when one object through comparison becomes the other object. When a poet continues the comparison over a verse or a number of lines it becomes an extended metaphor e.g. Lord Farquard is an evil monster. Onomatopoeia this is when a poet wants the responder to hear the sounds in the poem, so a word is used that echoes the sound the poet wishes to create e.g. The dragon bellowed and shrieked in anger. Oxymoron two contradictory words placed together to make a dramatic point e.g. Shakespeare’s Othello stated that he wept cruel tears (Shakespeare, W)
Pathetic Fallacy using nature to reflect human feelings e.g. Brent’s ribs were painful and he winced in pain when he turned to look at the bruised and angry storm clouds building in the East. Person 1st: I; 2nd: you; 3rd: he or she or they. The second person you when addressed to the responder can be forceful and persuasive. The first person can invite empathy. Personification
Alliteration when the poet uses the same consonant letter at the beginning of a number of words placed close together e.g. dark plastic skeleton dangling near my French doors. Apostrophe addressing an inanimate object or a dead person as if they were alive e.g. ‘Death be not proud though some have called thee mighty’(Donne, J in Favourite verse (1999) Hurford, C (Ed), Parragon, Bath. p.450) Assonance when the poet repeats the same vowel sound in a number of words placed closely together. e.g. Billy’s pen hit the desk and it ricocheted into the window. Consonance repeating the consonant anywhere in a number of words e.g. Deadly destruction of the world. Hyperbole dramatic exaggeration e.g. I am so hungry I could eat a horse. Imagery graphic pictures created by colourful language features e.g. Algae lie still and bloated on the top. Imperative Voice forceful verbs, ordering someone to do something e.g. Open your mind to injustice. Irony saying one thing but meaning another e.g. War doesn’t hurt anyone. Metaphor when one object through comparison becomes the other object. When a poet continues the comparison over a verse or a number of lines it becomes an extended metaphor e.g. Lord Farquard is an evil monster. Onomatopoeia this is when a poet wants the responder to hear the sounds in the poem, so a word is used that echoes the sound the poet wishes to create e.g. The dragon bellowed and shrieked in anger. Oxymoron two contradictory words placed together to make a dramatic point e.g. Shakespeare’s Othello stated that he wept cruel tears (Shakespeare, W)
Pathetic Fallacy using nature to reflect human feelings e.g. Brent’s ribs were painful and he winced in pain when he turned to look at the bruised and angry storm clouds building in the East. Person 1st: I; 2nd: you; 3rd: he or she or they. The second person you when addressed to the responder can be forceful and persuasive. The first person can invite empathy. Personification
References: Child, L. (2002) Who’s afraid of the big bad book?, Hodder Children’s, London Donne, J in Favourite verse (1999) Hurford, C (Ed), Parragon, Bath. Winton, T. (2004) The turning, Picador, Australia