symbol
An object that stands for something else, like an idea, belief or action.
For example, a heart is a sign of love. The Stone Table is a symbol of the cross of Jesus. Aslan is a symbol of Jesus. The White Witch is a symbol of the devil, etc.
mood
This is the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader.
For example, C.S. Lewis uses a "Gothic" mood (i.e., moonlight, darkness, coldness) to tell readers that the White Witch is going to appear soon and that something bad will happen...
anthropomorphism
An animal behaves just like a human. For example, Mr. Beaver talks and puts his finger to his lips to tell the children to be quiet! Another example: The animated film, Zootopia...or any Disney movie ever!
tone
This is the "attitude" that a writer takes when writing a story. C.S. Lewis's tone is like that of your favorite uncle: Friendly, playful, wise, and easy to like. For example, "One should never shut oneself up in a wardrobe..."
setting
Narnia is always winter: death, unchanging, evil
Narnia becoming spring: new life, growth, goodness
Symbol
White witch = Satan
Edmund - mankind
Aslan = Jesus
"a voice sounding pale."
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Ch. 10
" I say,..."
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe [throughout the book.]
Common Examples of Syntax
As stated above in the definition of syntax, every proper grammatical sentence or utterance is an example of syntax. Here are some examples of how syntax governs English.
Agreement: She is a person. versus She am a person.
Case: He took me to the restaurant. versus He took I to the restaurant.
Reflexive pronouns: I bought myself a new shirt. versus I bought my a new shirt.
Word order: We ate fish for dinner. versus For dinner ate we fish.
Note again that these are all very specific to English. Other languages may have similar syntactical phenomena, but different applications and possibilities. For example, in German there must be agreement between the gender of the word “the” with the noun—either der, die, or das. German also allows for many different word order possibilities than English. The example of “For dinner ate we fish” would actually be an acceptable word order in German.
Shakespeare English Prose Example:
ARIEL: Full fathom five thy father lies.
Of his bones are coral made.
Those are pearls that were his eyes.
Nothing of him that doth fade,
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange.
Sea-nymphs hourly ring his knell
(The Tempest by William Shakespeare)
This example of syntax comes from Ariel’s song in Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The first line “full fathom five thy father lies” is a unique inverse of what a person might say in normal speech—“Your father is buried at sea five fathoms down.” The way the Shakespeare wrote it, however, creates both alliteration of the “f” sound as well as assonance between “five” and “lies.” This arrangement also puts the stress on almost every syllable, making it sound very rhythmic and strong. The rest of the excerpt contains interesting syntactical choices, such as the inverse arrangement in “Of his bones are coral made.” Shakespeare’s syntax is a key part of what makes his works so poetic and so memorable.