We’ve helped thousands of students ace their HSC English exams, which is why we’ve compiled the ULTIMATE English technique cheat sheet (with explanations and examples)!
As a former student who consistently achieved A-range essay marks and a tutor with two years of experience, I understand how challenging it is to spot literary techniques when your school only ever covers similes and metaphors.
So here’s 50 language techniques to help level up your analysis 🙂
What are Literary Techniques?
Literary techniques are the tools and methods writers use to create a certain effect in their writing and to convey their message more effectively.
When you’re analysing a text for HSC English, these techniques can enhance imagery, convey emotions, develop characters, establish themes, and much more!
Our HSC English tutors are experts at navigating textual analysis and choosing the right English techniques for your essay, so get in touch if you’re looking to boost your marks!
How do I find Literary Techniques?
So you’re 40 pages into your text for HSC English and haven’t found ONE language technique?
Here’s how to pick them out. Look for elements that stand out!
Symbolism, vivid descriptions, or unusual word choices will all mean something, so analyse how these elements contribute to the overall meaning, mood, or characterisation in the text.
Consider the author’s intention behind using these literary techniques and how they enhance the story or convey deeper messages. Check out our step-by-step guide to analysing English texts for more help!
You could also save some time by making a free account with Artie, our AI English tutor to help you identify English techniques. Just paste in any text you want and Artie will instantly provide a list of the techniques it uses, complete with explanations and their connections to key themes.
High vs Low Level Sophistication Techniques
The sophistication of a language technique does not relate to it just being more obscure or having a fancy-sounding name. Instead, the high level techniques are those that enable you to show your understanding of the text and produce deeper analysis.
For example, symbolism is a high level language technique because you need to decode what the author is actually representing and explain its deeper meaning.
Context is also a high level technique because you need to carefully consider how an author’s context influences the text and the values they are trying to convey.
On the contrary, alliteration is a low level technique because there’s typically not much you can really analyse in regards to repeating sounds/letters. Of course, it is possible for there to be a profound underlying meaning… but often the reality is that the author just thought it sounded nice. As a result, your analysis might feel more surface level or disconnected from a text’s key themes.
Ultimately, you can choose any English technique for your essay as long as your analysis is strong. It’s just always useful to seek out the high level techniques because they will give you the most to talk about.
Here’s an annotated paragraph on The Crucible which shows several high level literary techniques being used in analysis:
HSC English Literary Techniques Cheat Sheet
A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z
Allegory
A story or narrative with two meanings: the obvious or literal meaning that is immediately clear, and a second, usually hidden meaning.
The second meaning often acts as a commentary on real world events or issues or relates to a specific topic/theme being dealt with.
Example: 1984 can be interpreted as an allegory for the suppression of individual autonomy by a totalitarian government, inspired by the real-world Stalinist regime.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Alliteration
Repetition of sounds or letters at the beginning of successive words or within sentences/phrases to create a sense of rhythm.
This English technique can be used to link certain words, emphasising their thematic or symbolic meaning.
Example: “Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow” (John Donne, Death, be not proud)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Allusion
A subtle reference to an event, person, place, other text, etc.
Religious allusions are some of the easiest language techniques to spot, especially Christian religious allusions due to the oversaturation of Christian imagery in texts and media.
Example: In T. S. Eliot’s poem Journey of the Magi the opening lines: “A cold coming we had it, / Just the worst time of year / For a journey” are an allusion to the 1622 nativity sermon from bishop Lancelot Andrewes.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Anaphora
A rhetorical device that involves the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or phrases.
This language technique is used for emphasis, rhythm, and creating powerful emotional effects by drawing attention to a particular idea or theme.
Example: “We demand the right to make our own decisions, and not be at the whim of government, at the mercy of Protection Boards, at the vagary of landlords and property owners.”
In this excerpt from Jane Harrison’s play “Rainbow’s End,” the phrase “at the” is repeated at the beginning of successive phrases, emphasising the extent of oppression faced by First Nations people in Australian society.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Archetype
An archetype is an immediately recognisable character, concept or object that makes it easy for audiences to categorise them based on what they resemble in literature.
Character archetypes are most common, with popular ones including: the femme fatale, the average joe, the class clown, the anti-hero, the bad boy, etc. Most characters fit into at least one archetype.
Example: William Shakespeare’s Hamlet fits the archetype of a ‘tragic hero’ as a man of noble standing whose fatal flaw (indecisiveness) leads to his tragic downfall and eventual death.
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Assonance
Similar to alliteration, except specifically for vowel sounds that are repeated.
This may be at the beginning of words/phrases, or within the words themselves. Very common in poetry.
Example: “My ancestors’ ashes in a bowl” (Eileen Chong, Burning Rice)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Atmosphere
Atmosphere refers to the feeling or mood created by a place, situation or text.
The atmosphere of a text is crafted through sensory imagery and word choices. This is what makes dark, stormy nights in novels feel eerie and foreboding.
Example: T.S. Eliot’s ‘The Hollow Men” uses the imagery of a barren landscape to create an atmosphere of desolation e.g. “This is the dead land / This is cactus land.”
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Catachresis
A figure of speech that involves the use of a word or phrase in a way that deviates from its conventional meaning or usage.
Catachresis is essentially an extreme form of metaphor or analogy, stretching the boundaries of language to create a vivid or striking image. It can involve the application of a word to something that it doesn’t literally apply to, resulting in a surprising or unusual comparison.
Example: “I could smell the silence” uses the word ‘smell’ where it does not usually apply, creating a vivid description of silence through an unusual word choice.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Characterisation
The process by which characters are introduced, described and then fully formed through their choices, interactions, etc.
Characterisation is what makes characters feel like real people, and is often based in their morals, values and personality traits. If a character has strong characterisation it is easy to imagine how they would react in any given situation.
Example: Prospero from William Shakespeare’s The Tempest is characterised as vengeful and domineering, but ultimately a man of wisdom and principle. This enables the audience to become invested in his downward spiral, but also makes his redemption arc and eventual forgiveness of Antonio feel believable.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Charactonym
A character name that relates to a specific characteristic or their role in the narrative.
This language technique is often used to allude to an individual’s defining trait.
Example: In Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations the name of the protagonist, Pip, alludes to his low social standing in society.
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Consonance
The repetition of the same consonants in words.
Unlike alliteration, which focuses on the initial sounds of words, consonance concentrates on the repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within words.
Example: The title of the poem “Nick and the Candlestick” by Sylvia Plath.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Contrast
Any situation wherein two different or opposing things are presented together in order to highlight their differences.
This language techniquecan occur with ideas, settings, characters, objects, concepts, themes, etc. and often serves to make the audience more aware of the individual parts of the two things that make them different.
Example: In William Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice Shylock describes the bond of a pound of flesh as a “merry sport,” contrasting the jovial tone of his description with the gruesome nature of the agreement.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Context
The time, place and social setting within which a text was created, including the values of the time, the world events, major topics of discussion, key figures, etc.
There are three kinds of context: literary (what was happening in the literary world at the time), historical (what year it was and what major world events were occurring) and personal (who the author was, their experiences and values). Settings, characters and events within the text might also draw upon certain time periods, adding another layer of historical context.
These all influence the text, leading to the text often reflecting the authors own ideas and values as based on their context.
Example: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley explores the idea of science being used to create life, reflecting Shelley’s own interest in science and the actual reanimation experiments of the time period.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Dramatic Irony
Any situation wherein the audience is privy to some sort of information that the characters do not know, creating a sense of tension, suspense, or humour.
This is usually achieved by cutting away from the main character to see what another character is doing/planning, then returning to the uninformed character and watching the results play out, all the while knowing what the second character has done/planned.
Example: William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream uses dramatic irony for a humorous effect when the character Nicholas Bottom unknowingly has his head transformed into that of a donkey and cannot understand why others are laughing at him.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Emotive Language
Words chosen to create a specific emotional response in the reader.
This English technique is often linked to a word’s connotations and commonly used in highly emotional or descriptive scenes/situations. Very common in poetry.
Example: “To our fathers’ fathers / The pain, the sorrow; / To our children’s children / The glad tomorrow.” (Oodgeroo Noonuccal, A Song Of Hope)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Enjambment
A poetic technique where a sentence or phrase in a poem runs over into the next line or lines without a pause or a punctuation mark.
This means that the thought, phrase, or clause doesn’t end with the line break but continues into the next line, creating a sense of continuity and fluidity in the poem.
Example: “I’m writing this just after an encounter / With an English journalist in search of ‘views / On the Irish thing’.” (Seamus Heaney, Whatever You Say Say Nothing)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Exclamatory Mode
A sentence ending with an exclamation mark (“!”) or said with a tone of shock/excitement is used to express high emotion – e.g. sudden revelations, shock, fear or enthusiasm.
This is often used to better express the tone of dialogue or show emotional outbursts.
Example: In Arthur Miller’s The Crucible John Proctor uses the exclamatory mode in the line “I hear the boot of Lucifer, I see his filthy face! And it is my face, and yours, Danforth!” to express his outrage at the corruption of the justice system.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Download Our List of HSC English Literary Techniques
Figurative Language
Language, words and/or expressions that have meaning beyond their literal interpretation, often used to express links between ideas, characters and concepts or subtly tie into overall themes.
Figurative language includes metaphors, similes, hyperbole, metonymy, personification, etc. and are also frequently used to describe characters and things. Common in poetry.
Example: “The fading air is stained with red / Since Time was killed and now lies dead.” (Rosemary Dobson, Young Girl at a Window)
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Foil
A foil is another character in a story that specifically contrasts the main character in order to emphasise the main character’s attributes and values or compare the values of the two characters.
Oftentimes a character’s foil will have vastly differing ideas on the same topics, share some kind of similar background or experience, deal with the same situations in different ways, etc.
Example: In William Shakespeare’s King Richard III Richmond is a foil to Richard as he is logical and modest, while Richard is hubristic and impulsive.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Foreshadowing
The act of hinting at or setting up a situation, event or action that will later be extremely important in the narrative but doesn’t seem important at the time.
Audiences are usually made to notice a particular object/comment/situation/etc. as being of some level of importance, but not realise how important it will be until later in the narrative. However, some authors include foreshadowing that the audience isn’t meant to pick up on until after the ‘big reveal’ has occurred.
Example: In William Shakespeare’s King Henry IV Part 1, Hotspur losing the map before battle emphasises his carelessness and ineptitude, foreshadowing his defeat.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Form
The construction and structure of a text based on the text type, the context and the author’s personal stylistic choices.
This can include language choices, sentence structures, film choices, poetic styles (limerick, free verse, etc.) and is often influences by the context and literary styles of the time it was written.
Example: Mark Haddon’s ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time’ uses the bildungsroman form as it follows Christopher’s coming-of-age journey of learning to overcome his anxieties and form connections with others.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Fragmentation
Incomplete or broken off sentences or narration.
This language technique is used most commonly in dialogue to replicate regular speech patterns and being cut off or trailing off while speaking. It is also used outside of dialogue to build suspense, tension or a sense of urgency. Very common in poetry.
Example: “For Thine is / Life is / For Thine is the” (T.S. Eliot, The Hollow Men)
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Frame Narrative
This is essentially a ‘story within a story’, wherein the main narrative is being told, remembered, etc. by someone in the ‘outside narrative.’
There are usually parallels between these narratives, contributing to a greater overarching meaning.
Example: F. Scott Fitzgerald’s ‘The Great Gatsby’ is a frame narrative as the narrator, Nick Carraway, is telling the story two years after the events transpired.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Hyperbole
The purposeful over-exaggeration of a statement in order to create a more intense or over-the-top effect.
Hyperbole are most commonly used in highly emotive situations or dialogue to create an even greater emotional reaction. Can also be humorous if used in mundane settings.
Example: In William Shakespeare’s The Tempest the line “Your tale, sir, would cure deafness” uses hyperbole to emphasise Miranda’s emotional reaction to the story of Prospero’s betrayal.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Imagery
Words used to create an idea or mental image of something created through descriptive language.
Imagery is generally focused on settings, objects and characters, enabling audiences to envisage what is happening and how it all looks. Common in poetry.
Example: “The old orchard, full of smoking air, / Full of sour marsh and broken boughs, is there” (Kenneth Slessor, Wild Grapes)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Intertextuality
This English technique occurs when one text makes reference to another text, either obviously or in a more subtle way (e.g. allusions) in order to make a point or draw links between the two.
The other text being referenced can either exist in the world of the original text, or its characters, events, certain quotes etc. can be invoked within the narrative without directly mentioning the source.
Example: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein makes intertextual references throughout the text to the Greek myth of Prometheus in order to better express her warning against ‘playing God.’
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Irony
A disconnect between what is said and what is meant, usually with the words said having a second humorous or satirical meaning.
It can also be used to expose certain character traits, usually hypocrisy or dishonesty.
Example: The statement “Well aren’t I lucky!” is ironic when said by a character who has just suffered due to bad luck.
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Linear and Non-Linear Narratives
This describes the way in which a narrative flows or is told chronologically.
A linear narrative moves forward in time, directly from point A to point B with events occurring in chronological order. A non-linear narrative may jump from different times, characters, etc. with events occurring out of chronological order.
Example: Italo Calvino’s If on a winter’s night a traveler is a non-linear narrative as it contains narrative chapters told in second-person broken up by excerpts from narratives that greatly vary in terms of plot and writing style.
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Metaphor
An English technique that compares two things, often by saying that one ‘is’ the other in order to draw stronger comparisons and add a level of figurative meaning.
Sometimes authors use extended metaphors which are metaphors that show up multiple times in a text (e.g. a woman being referred to as different flowers throughout a text). Very common in poetry.
Example: “And then I heard them lift a Box / And creak across my Soul” (Emily Dickinson, I felt a Funeral, in my Brain)
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Metonymy
The act of referring to something not by its actual name but by a figurative name or the name of something associated with it.
Many everyday phrases are examples of metonymy like using “the suits” to refer to business people.
Example: “Lend me your ears!” (William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar) in which ‘ears’ is used in place of ‘attention’, employing metonymy.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Modality
The strength or force of a word, with low modality words being passive while high modality words are forceful.
Characters giving speeches or rallying crowds would use high modality words, as they raise the intensity and strength of the language and scene.
Example: “You might want to do this.” versus “You must do it.” Might is low modality, must is high modality.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Download Our List of HSC English Literary Techniques
Mood or Tone
Mood is similar to atmosphere, however it focuses more on the emotional or mental feeling the author has towards certain subjects or ideas and how they express that in the text.
Mood can be ‘felt’ in a similar way to atmosphere through word connotations, figurative language, etc. Very common in poetry.
Example: The line “It will be the smallest, most picturesque cottage. / I will live there alone and with everyone I love.” (Miriam Wei Wei Lo, Home) employs a tone of longing.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Motifs
A motif is an idea, symbol, object, concept or theme that is always present throughout an entire text, playing a significant and/or symbolic role in the narrative.
Generally, English techniques like motifs tie into the central ideas of the narrative or reflect a certain message the author is trying to present. Common in poetry.
Example: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott) features an ongoing eye motif, with several close ups of different characters’ eyes used to draw comparisons between how the motif relates to each character.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Omission
What is left out of a text – missing scenes, fade to blacks, conversations only mentioned in passing, etc.
Omissions lend largely to ambiguity and often leave it up to the audience to ‘fill in the blank’ of what may have happened with their own imagination. Sometimes a specific scenario can be implied.
Example: At the end of one scene character A and character B are fighting, however in the next scene they seem to be acting civilly to each other. Because the audience isn’t shown why the characters’ attitudes changed, they are left to try to figure it out for themselves.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Oxymoron
Two contradictory words or concepts used together to create a strange or complex idea that still makes sense.
Oxymorons, as English techniques, add an extra level of meaning to certain themes or concepts by prompting the audience to think deeper about its contradictory nature. This technique is also referred to as a paradox. Common in poetry.
Example: The governmental slogan “War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Ignorance is Strength” (George Orwell, 1984) uses an oxymoron to encourage the audience to consider how truth is distorted by The Party.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Parallels
This involves setting up two characters, situations, settings or ideas to be parallel to one another, reflecting each other but having different outcomes.
Often the stories of a hero and a villain will be parallels, with the villain making the ‘wrong’ choices and the hero the ‘right’ ones. Parallel situations are similar, with a similar setup or scenario having a different outcome to another based on characters and choices.
Example: Felix from Margaret Atwood’s Hag-Seed parallels Prospero’s experience of betrayal, but while Prospero chooses reconciliation, Felix rejects forgiveness and finds closure on his own terms.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Pathetic Fallacy
This involves giving any non-human object or nature some kind of human feelings or senses.
This English technique is a more specific form of personification, typically used to create a more intimate or emotional atmosphere. Very common in poetry.
Example: “The willow leaves brushed forlornly at his face, the old tree trying to comfort him.”
Sophistication Rating: Medium Level
Personification
The attributing of human characteristics to non-human objects, by which inanimate objects appear to have life and/or feelings.
This is often used in figurative descriptive language and is common in poetry.
Example: “This Sea that bares her bosom to the moon” (William Wordsworth, The World Is Too Much With Us)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Repetition
Repeating a word several times in close succession.
As a language technique, repetition is used mainly to emphasise certain words.
Example: “I saw pale kings and princes too, / Pale warriors, death-pale were they all” (John Keats, La Belle Dame Sans Merci)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Rhetorical Question
A question that is asked without the intent of receiving an answer because the answer itself is obvious.
Generally rhetorical questions, as English literary techniques, are used to force audiences to come to the correct answer on their own, though sometimes they may be used to prompt audiences to think harder about a specific idea.
Example: A group of warriors asking “Who will lead us?” when the narrative has already made it obvious that the hero will lead the quest.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Setting
The location of a narrative – which may and often does change several times within the story.
Settings can also often be tied to the narrative, rather than just being ‘where things happen,’ and some settings are linked to certain genres.
Example: Abandoned castles and stormy moors are classic Gothic settings, while teen dramas are typically set in high schools and suburban towns.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Sibilance
A specific from of alliteration involving the repetition of ‘s’ within a phrase or sentence.
Depending on word connotations it can be read as soft and flowing or cold and hissing.
Example: “And I see a woman, shining, stretch her hand” (Les Murray, An Absolutely Ordinary Rainbow)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Simile
Comparing two objects, and object and a person, etc. using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to draw parallels between them.
Similes can be used in imagery to create interesting descriptions or in symbolism to make a deeper point about how two things are similar in nature.
Example: “Yea, she doth smile, and she doth weep, / Like a youthful hermitess” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Christabel)
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Sound Devices
Any techniques that focus on the sounds produced by words and/or how they relate to one another.
Sound devices as English techniques are incredibly common in poetry.
Example: onomatopoeia, resonance, rhythm, rhyme, etc.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Subversion
When something expected or known to the reader, such as a trope or story structure, takes an unexpected direction.
This language technique is usually employed to make a story stand out, or be more memorable and transgressive.
Example: Frozen subverts the ‘love at first sight’ trope in traditional fairytales as the initial love interest is later revealed to be the villain.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Symbolism
When an object, person, etc. represents a more complex idea, concept or theme.
Symbolism doesn’t always represent something larger or more important than the literal object, and can also represent relationships, interactions, etc.
Example: The machine in Fritz Lang’s Metropolis symbolises the dehumanisation of workers, treating them as tools for production in a technocratic, capitalist society.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Synecdoche
A figure of speech in which a part of something is used to represent the whole, or vice versa, where the whole is used to represent a part.
This literary technique can help to create a more concise or impactful expression compared to when an author chooses to use a more straightforward phrase.
Example: Referring to a car as “wheels” or referring to a group of people as “society.”
Sophistication Rating: High Level
Syntax (sentence structure)
The way a sentence is constructed – short, long, fragmented, compound, complex, etc.
Different sentence structures have different effects, with short and one-word sentences creating impact and urgency, while compound sentences are slower and usually found in more formal writing.
Example: “District 12 only has three existing victors to choose from. Two male. One female. I am going back to the arena.” (Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games) This features a longer sentence to give context, then three successive shorter sentences to create impact and tension.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Theme
A key message, concept or moral in a narrative which is intended to cause audiences to think on real-life issues and aspects of the human experience.
Generally themes are literary techniques that define the story and are a recurring feature throughout the text. There is usually more than one theme.
Example: The themes of Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 include censorship, the rise of technology and the importance of literature.
Sophistication Rating: Low Level
Unreliable Narration
When the narrator is not telling an accurate or complete story due to personal biases, forgetfulness etc.
This narration style often involves parts of the ‘true’ story being omitted, misremembered or deliberately changed to suit the narrator’s personal interests. As a language technique, it prompts the audience to think more critically about what is being presented to them, discern what information is reliable and make their own conclusions
Example: In Kazuo Ishiguro’s An Artist of the Floating World, Ono is an unreliable narrator as he wants to downplay the extent of his involvement in the Japanese imperialist movement of World War II.
Sophistication Rating: High Level
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Maddison Leach completed her HSC in 2014, achieving an ATAR of 98.00 and Band 6 in all her subjects. Having tutored privately for two years before joining Art of Smart, she enjoys helping students through the academic and other aspects of school life, even though it sometimes makes her feel old. Maddison has had a passion for writing since her early teens, having had several short stories published before joining the world of blogging. She’s currently studying a Bachelor of Design at the University of Technology Sydney and spends most of her time trying not to get caught sketching people on trains.
Christina Ugov is currently completing a double degree in International and Global Studies and Theatre and Performance at the University of Sydney. Outside of her studies, she enjoys exploring creative writing projects, analysing literature and playing with her cat. She spends her spare time reading, listening to music and drinking lots of tea.