IGCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESOURCE: DEVICES WRITERS USE TO CREATE EFFECTS IGCSE English Language Resource POETIC AND LITERARY TECHNIQUE Below is a list of poetic techniques, devices and vocabulary that will help you in your exploration of poetry and literary texts – see what word choices the authors have made in order to create specific effects. language device / technique An effect used in writing to affect the reader in a certain way, such as by helping them imagine an image, view, taste, smell, feeling, emotion etc. stanza Another noun for ‘verse’, a section of poetry. (We would call these ‘paragraphs’ if they were in prose.) connotations/symbolism Words have many meanings attached to them – what meanings and associations does the writer want you to take away with you? What extra meanings do their words have? imagery The collective term for all of the devices/techniques that help the reader imagine/make an image of what’s happening, so they can understand better simile Imagery: Something is ‘like’ or ‘as…..as’ something else to help describe it with comparison metaphor Imagery: Something ‘is’ something else – helps us understand what it might be like by making us think of something alliteration Imagery: Uses the same repeated first letter to make a sound effect or give emphasis to a group of words 1 IGCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESOURCE: DEVICES WRITERS USE TO CREATE EFFECTS sibilance Imagery: Like alliteration: the use of ‘s’ and ‘z’ sounds in particular to make a sound effect description Imagery: Descriptive words help build a picture of what is being written about adverbs describe verbs – doing words – to describe how something is done adjectives describe nouns – objects and people – to describe what they are like onomatopoeia Imagery: When a words makes the sound it is describing, like ‘crash’ or ‘bang’, to create a sound effect. personification Imagery: Giving inanimate objects human characteristics or actions to create an effect tone The feelings or emotion felt during the story or poem at different points, such as hostile, relaxed, happy, sad, angry etc. atmosphere Similar to tone, the atmosphere is the overall feeling of the poem. rhythm The ‘beat’ of the poem. Often you can hear this in the order of the words as you read them, and this can have an effect such as speed, movement, or the sound of speech. In more traditional poetry this is referred to as metre, with rules about how many syllables can be used in each line, such as ‘iambic pentameter’, in which there are five pairs of short and long syllables. enjambment The sentences run over the end of the line, instead of stopping or pausing at the end of the line. This can break up rhythm, or create speed. 2 IGCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESOURCE: DEVICES WRITERS USE TO CREATE EFFECTS end-stopping The lines of the poem pause or stop at the end of the line with punctuation. This helps keep the rhythm regular. caesura A sudden stop in a line caused by punctuation. This affects the rhythm, the speed and the tone. character The invented people in a story or poem. If the poem is a first-person voice and builds up a character, it is called a dramatic monologue. genre The type of story or poem, eg: love poem. narrative Another word for story narrator The person telling the story voice The way a story is told. A story can be in First Person Narrative Voice, where someone is telling the story and saying ‘I’. A story can be in Third Person Narrative Voice, where someone is telling the story and using ‘he, she, it’ to describe others. dramatic monologue A first person poem where a character or persona is developed omniscient narrator The narrator isn’t a character because they know everything that’s happening (LATIN: omni = everything, sciens = to know). This is normally the author’s voice. 3 IGCSE ENGLISH LANGUAGE RESOURCE: DEVICES WRITERS USE TO CREATE EFFECTS theme The overall idea in a piece of poetry, prose (not poetry), fiction (made-up story) or factual writing, eg: a story about two people falling in love has the theme of love, relationships, and if they fight it might also have the theme of conflict. structure The way the author has put together the story – the order of events they have chosen. This may affect the reader in different ways. Normal basic structure is ‘beginning, middle, end’, but some authors play around with this. Types: In order of time= chronological order. Going forward and backward through the story= using flashbacks. Starting in the middle of the story to make the reader immediately confused and interested= ‘in medias res’ technique. 4