MEPX
Chapter 4 of 10All chapters
  1. 1Forms and genres
  2. 2Narrative and structure
  3. 3Voice and point of view
  4. 4Language and imagery
  5. 5Poetry
  6. 6Drama
  7. 7Movements
  8. 8World literature
  9. 9Reading critically
  10. 10Reading well

Chapter 4 of 10

Language and imagery

How the words work.

Figures of speech

Metaphor, simile, personification, irony and symbol carry meaning beyond the literal. Recurring images build patterns a reader can trace.

  • Sound matters: rhythm, alliteration and line breaks direct attention.
  • Diction places a text socially and historically.

Close reading

Take a short passage and ask why these words, in this order. The argument has to rest on what is on the page, which is what separates interpretation from projection.