Close Analysis Techniques
Breaking down literary techniques:
S – sound/senses
L – language
I – imagery
P – perspective
S – structure
Adjective – a word which qualifies or modifies the meaning of a noun
Adverb – a word which qualifies or adds to the action of a verb
Allegory – a story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one
Alliteration – the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or
closely connected words
Allusion – an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly
Ambiguity – having multiple meanings
Analogy – a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of
explanation or clarification
Anaphora – the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Antagonist – a major character who opposes the protagonist in a story or play
Anthropomorphism – the attribution to a non-animate thing of human attributes.
Antithesis – the contrast of opposing ideas in close proximity
Archetype – a typical example of a certain person or thing; a primitive mental image
inherited from the collective unconscious; a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or
mythology
Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds in close proximity to create internal rhyme
Asyndeton – the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence,
Atmosphere – the overall feeling of a work, which is related to tone and mood
Axiomatic – something that is self-evident and cannot be questioned
Bathos - an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the
sublime to the trivial or ridiculous
Brevitas - the use of a concise statement to say a lot more
Caesura – a pause created by punctuation in the middle of a line of poetry
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, Characterisation – how an author establishes character. An author may directly describe the
appearance and personality of character or show it through action or dialogue
Clause – a sentence or sentence-like construction included within another sentence
Cliché – a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought
Climax – the point at which the action in a story or play reaches its emotional peak
Colloquialism – the use of everyday speech rather than formal language
Conjunction – a word used to connect words or constructions (e.g. and, but, if, because,
although)
Connotations – an idea or feeling which a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary
meaning
Conflict – competing elements of a plot. Traditionally, every plot is built from the most basic
elements of a conflict and an eventual resolution. The conflict can be internal (within one
character) or external (among or between characters, society, and/or nature)
Consonance – the recurrence of similar-sounding consonants in proximity
Contraction – the process of shortening a word by combination or elision
Convention – the defining characteristics of a genre
Dialect – a form of a language which is particular to a specific region or social group
Diction – the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
Didactic – intended for instruction; instructive
Dialogue – the speech and conversations between characters
Direct Speech – the representation within speech marks of the exact words of a character
Discourse markers – embedded phrases in text that show a change of direction – ‘anyway’
‘so’ ‘the next thing.’
Elision – the omission of a vowel, consonant, or syllable and replaced by an apostrophe
Emotive language – language that arouses specific emotions
Epithet – an adjective or adjective phrase used to characterise someone or something
Euphemism – a phrase that hints at an alternative meaning without being explicit, often used
to cover up a more sinister meaning
Figurative Language – language that does not mean exactly what it says. It represents an
object or an idea by using a metaphor or another figure of speech.
First person narrative – narrative perspective whereby the narrator tells the story from their
point of view, typified using the pronoun ‘I’
Free indirect discourse – third person narrative perspective in which the narrator has access
to a character’s thoughts and feelings
5
Breaking down literary techniques:
S – sound/senses
L – language
I – imagery
P – perspective
S – structure
Adjective – a word which qualifies or modifies the meaning of a noun
Adverb – a word which qualifies or adds to the action of a verb
Allegory – a story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning,
typically a moral or political one
Alliteration – the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or
closely connected words
Allusion – an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly
Ambiguity – having multiple meanings
Analogy – a comparison between one thing and another, typically for the purpose of
explanation or clarification
Anaphora – the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Antagonist – a major character who opposes the protagonist in a story or play
Anthropomorphism – the attribution to a non-animate thing of human attributes.
Antithesis – the contrast of opposing ideas in close proximity
Archetype – a typical example of a certain person or thing; a primitive mental image
inherited from the collective unconscious; a recurrent symbol or motif in literature, art, or
mythology
Assonance – the repetition of vowel sounds in close proximity to create internal rhyme
Asyndeton – the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence,
Atmosphere – the overall feeling of a work, which is related to tone and mood
Axiomatic – something that is self-evident and cannot be questioned
Bathos - an effect of anticlimax created by an unintentional lapse in mood from the
sublime to the trivial or ridiculous
Brevitas - the use of a concise statement to say a lot more
Caesura – a pause created by punctuation in the middle of a line of poetry
4
, Characterisation – how an author establishes character. An author may directly describe the
appearance and personality of character or show it through action or dialogue
Clause – a sentence or sentence-like construction included within another sentence
Cliché – a phrase or opinion that is overused and betrays a lack of original thought
Climax – the point at which the action in a story or play reaches its emotional peak
Colloquialism – the use of everyday speech rather than formal language
Conjunction – a word used to connect words or constructions (e.g. and, but, if, because,
although)
Connotations – an idea or feeling which a word invokes in addition to its literal or primary
meaning
Conflict – competing elements of a plot. Traditionally, every plot is built from the most basic
elements of a conflict and an eventual resolution. The conflict can be internal (within one
character) or external (among or between characters, society, and/or nature)
Consonance – the recurrence of similar-sounding consonants in proximity
Contraction – the process of shortening a word by combination or elision
Convention – the defining characteristics of a genre
Dialect – a form of a language which is particular to a specific region or social group
Diction – the choice and use of words and phrases in speech or writing.
Didactic – intended for instruction; instructive
Dialogue – the speech and conversations between characters
Direct Speech – the representation within speech marks of the exact words of a character
Discourse markers – embedded phrases in text that show a change of direction – ‘anyway’
‘so’ ‘the next thing.’
Elision – the omission of a vowel, consonant, or syllable and replaced by an apostrophe
Emotive language – language that arouses specific emotions
Epithet – an adjective or adjective phrase used to characterise someone or something
Euphemism – a phrase that hints at an alternative meaning without being explicit, often used
to cover up a more sinister meaning
Figurative Language – language that does not mean exactly what it says. It represents an
object or an idea by using a metaphor or another figure of speech.
First person narrative – narrative perspective whereby the narrator tells the story from their
point of view, typified using the pronoun ‘I’
Free indirect discourse – third person narrative perspective in which the narrator has access
to a character’s thoughts and feelings
5
