Defamiliarisation
A technique rendering the familiar strange or unusual through specific linguistic and stylistic choices, forcing readers to look anew at ordinary things and creating freshness and strangeness in description.
Real World
Poet Ted Hughes describes a hawk in 'Hawk Roosting' from the bird's own arrogant perspective — a mundane creature defamiliarised into a chilling emblem of totalitarian power that forces readers to reassess something they assumed was ordinary.
Exam Focus
Identify the specific technique creating defamiliarisation (word order, unusual adjective, extended metaphor) before commenting on its effect.
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