One of the first literary devices most English students learn is ‘simile’, which is derived from the Latin word ‘similis’, meaning ‘like’.
Category: Analysis
Too funny it hurts – 3 signs to help you detect satire
We all love a good laugh.
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How to write about rhythm in poetry
Like repetition, rhythm is another one of those seemingly innocent literary devices: simple in concept, but surprisingly challenging to analyse.
Understanding self-conscious men: reading ‘Othello’ and ‘Cymbeline’
Before we get down and nerdy to literary business, here’s a synopsis of this post:
Here are 2 ways for you to ‘read between the lines’
In this post, I want to address one of the biggest FAQs I get about the study and appreciation of literature:
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Is repetition too ‘easy’ to write about? You’ll be surprised…
For any English student, the ability to spot figurative devices and explain to what effect they are used is an important skill.
In order to do well in English, you must possess this quality
A slightly different post today: instead of focusing on a specific technique or learning approach, I’d like to address the elephant in the room – mindset.
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What does irony really mean?
The English dictionary is a wonderful invention, but there are times when it falls short of doing its job: making us understand what a word actually means.
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Is Shelley’s ‘Ozymandias’ a great poem, or a poem about greatness? (or both?)
It’s quite common to see Romantic poetry in English Literature curricula, largely because they tend to feature more layman language and universal themes (well, ‘layman’ compared to their more stylistically experimental Modernist counterparts or more linguistically distant Medieval / Renaissance predecessors).
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How do you describe tone?
A common question I get from students is how to describe ‘tone’.
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The Hyperbolit School 