How to Identify English Techniques: Your Ultimate Literary Cheat Sheet
What is a literary technique?
Often referred to as literary devices or figurative language, literary techniques are tools that composers use to clarify or elevate a text’s meaning. These techniques can influence perspectives, immerse readers, or give a little *spice* to an otherwise plain text.
How to identify literary techniques and their impact?
- Before you start looking for techniques, read through the entire section of relevant text to gain a rough understanding of its content
- Think about the main purpose/s of that piece of text - this is the broader impact of the text on its reader
- Look for ways the composer could have achieved that purpose (for example, using contrast to accentuate the individual traits of the quiet character and her loud best friend)
- Now narrow this down to each sentence, and try to find some language techniques listed below (for example, maybe a metaphor comparing the girl is to a small mouse characterises her as quiet)
Common techniques and their categories
Narrative conventions
- Allusion - a reference to another text, historical period, event, or religious belief. Allusions can be further categorised by what they refer to (i.e biblical allusion)
- Foreshadowing - an allusion to a future point in the narrative
- Intertextuality - alluding to another text
- Archetype - recurring subject in narratives, similar to a trope
- Contrast- creating two subjects that have different characteristics, amplifying their differences
- Form - the general purpose and conventions of a text type, which influences its entire construction and method of storytelling
- Hyperbole - an exaggeration
- Irony - expressing meaning through language that is deliberately contrary or opposite, typically humorous
- Motif - a recurring subject or idea that is symbolic
- Symbolism - an object that represents something else
- Subversion - when a text diverts from its expected trope or structure
- Tense - an indication of past, present, or future
Descriptive language
- Imagery - immersive words that address our senses (i.e sensory imagery can be described as visual, tactile, olfactory, etc.)
- Metaphor - the comparison between two objects, adding layers to meaning
- Simile - using ‘as’ or ‘like’ in the comparison rather than directly equating the two objects
- Personification - giving non-human objects human qualities
Voice
- Anecdote - a personal story that deepens a character or develops ideas
- Dialogue - when a character or the composer speaks
- Humour - language that is funny, used to lighten the tone
- Register - the level of sophistication in language, which can change according to context or character
- Person - the perspective from which the story is narrated
- First person - the speaker refers to themself (i.e. me, I, we, us)
- Second person - the speaker refers to the audience (i.e. you)
- Third person - the speaker refers to everyone else (i.e. he, she, they, it)
- Tone - the way a composer invokes feeling via their words
Poetic conventions
- Alliteration - repetition of sounds at the beginning of words that are close together
- Assonance - repetition of vowels
- Sibilance - repetition of ‘s’ sounds
- Fragmentation - Incomplete or irregular sentences, used to build tension or urgency
- Enjambment - a sentence that continues over the line break, disrupting the flow of poetry
How to annotate a text
Now that you’ve got an understanding of literary techniques, let’s apply it to an actual text! This is an excerpt from The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas by Ursula Le Guin:
A child of nine or ten sits at the edge of the crowd alone, playing on a wooden flute. People pause to listen, and they smile, but they do not speak to him, for he never ceases playing and never sees them, his dark eyes wholly rapt in the sweet, thin magic of the tune.
He finishes, and slowly lowers his hands holding the wooden flute.
As if that little private silence were the signal, all at once a trumpet sounds from the pavilion near the starting line: imperious, melancholy, piercing. The horses rear on their slender legs, and some of them neigh in answer. Sober-faced, the young riders stroke the horses' necks and soothe them, whispering. "Quiet, quiet, there my beauty, my hope..." They begin to form in rank along the starting line. The crowds along the racecourse are like a field of grass and flowers in the wind. The Festival of Summer has begun.
The main purpose of this text is to introduce and familiarise readers with Omelas, a fictional world - but how does Le Guin do this?
Throughout the excerpt, the readers are immersed in this fictional world through Le Guin’s use of present-tense (e.g. “a child of nine or ten sits…”), describing events as if happening in real time. The variation in sentence length and structure also engage the reader, as it provides a natural ebb and flow of description.
Narrowing down on each sentence, we can see that Le Guin uses a lot of auditory imagery (e.g. the tune of the flute,, the neigh of horses, etc.) to further involve the readers’ senses in imagining this world. By including the dialogue of a rider with their horse, life and believability is brought to this fictional world. And finally, a simile comparing crowds to a field of grass and flowers conveys the idea of Omelas being a utopia.
FAQs
Why do literary techniques even matter?
Analysing literary techniques allows us to engage with a composer’s text in detail to better understand the text! When it comes to your own writing, these techniques support your arguments in critical essays, and help you create more complex narratives.
What is the difference between language techniques and literary elements?
Literary elements are the broad components that make up a story - its plot, setting, characters, or themes. On the other hand, language techniques are how composers craft their stories to be conveyed to readers - its use of language.
How can I improve my ability to identify and use these techniques?
Practice, practice, practice. When you read texts, be conscious of the composer’s purpose in every sentence and how they’ve used language to achieve this purpose. When writing, actively practice including the techniques you’ve learnt, and it will gradually feel natural!
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Written by KIS Academics Tutor for HSC English, Rachel Xie. Rachel is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Commerce/Fine Arts at UNSW and has received stellar reviews from her past KIS Academics students. You can view Rachel's profile here and request her as a tutor.