WHY?
 What
the writer intended
 What the reader encodes
Semantic – diction, choice of words,
diction
 Syntactic – the arrangement of words
in a sentence
 Graphological – the way the words are
written (Capitals, punctuation, italics
etc.)
 Figurative – a layer of meaning added
onto the literal meaning

Why didn’t Mansefield say:
 The discreet door shut with a bang
 She rushed from the shop, hat in
hand.
 As the clock struck twelve, Cinderella
remembered what her fairy godmother
had told her.

 Semantic
The discreet door closed with a click.
 There was a click as the discreet door
shut.
 The discreet door was shut with a
click.
 The door discreetly shut with a click.

 Syntactic
 With
a click the discreet door
shut.
 The discreet door clicked shut.
 Phonological (sound)
 Graphological


The discreet door shut – with a click.
With a click, the discreet door shut.
 Figurative

Identify four language features in this
sentence.