English Language + Structural Devices Bank
Hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Semantic Field – a lexical set of semantically related items
Auditory Imagery – Imagery through the use of sounds
Tactile Imagery – Imagery through the use of touch
Olfactory Imagery – Imagery through the use of smell
Gustatory Imagery - Imagery through the use of taste
Anaphora – repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases,
clauses, sentences
Flashback / Flashforward
Exposition – a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.
Pathetic Fallacy – a type of personification where emotions are given to a setting, an object
or the weather.
Retrospective Narrative – A retrospective narrative is when the story being told is not
happening at the time the narrator is describing it
Parallelism – Parallelism is the repetition of grammatical elements in writing and speaking
Antithesis – a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
Tone
, Juxtaposition – the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting
effect
Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in
conjunction
Allusion – allusion, in literature, an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing
or to a part of another text.
Paradox – a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when
investigated may prove to be well founded or true.
Euphemism – a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too
harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing
Amplification – the action of enlarging upon or adding detail to a story or statement.
Triadic Structure – This refers to when things are placed in groups of three.
Tautology – the saying of the same thing twice over in different words
Assonance – Assonance is the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within words,
phrases, or sentences
Cacophony – a harsh discordant mixture of sounds.
Enjambment – Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.
Dysphemism – a derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one
Archaism – a thing that is very old or old-fashioned, especially an archaic word or style of
language
Synecdoche – a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice
versa
Hyperbole - exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Semantic Field – a lexical set of semantically related items
Auditory Imagery – Imagery through the use of sounds
Tactile Imagery – Imagery through the use of touch
Olfactory Imagery – Imagery through the use of smell
Gustatory Imagery - Imagery through the use of taste
Anaphora – repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases,
clauses, sentences
Flashback / Flashforward
Exposition – a comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.
Pathetic Fallacy – a type of personification where emotions are given to a setting, an object
or the weather.
Retrospective Narrative – A retrospective narrative is when the story being told is not
happening at the time the narrator is describing it
Parallelism – Parallelism is the repetition of grammatical elements in writing and speaking
Antithesis – a person or thing that is the direct opposite of someone or something else.
Tone
, Juxtaposition – the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting
effect
Oxymoron – a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in
conjunction
Allusion – allusion, in literature, an implied or indirect reference to a person, event, or thing
or to a part of another text.
Paradox – a seemingly absurd or contradictory statement or proposition which when
investigated may prove to be well founded or true.
Euphemism – a mild or indirect word or expression substituted for one considered to be too
harsh or blunt when referring to something unpleasant or embarrassing
Amplification – the action of enlarging upon or adding detail to a story or statement.
Triadic Structure – This refers to when things are placed in groups of three.
Tautology – the saying of the same thing twice over in different words
Assonance – Assonance is the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds within words,
phrases, or sentences
Cacophony – a harsh discordant mixture of sounds.
Enjambment – Enjambment is the continuation of a sentence or clause across a line break.
Dysphemism – a derogatory or unpleasant term used instead of a pleasant or neutral one
Archaism – a thing that is very old or old-fashioned, especially an archaic word or style of
language
Synecdoche – a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice
versa
