Writing Techniques Flashcards
What is a Volta?
It is a point in the poem or text where the tone or style of the text changes dramatically and a new event may occur. It is often halfway through the poem and can be quite noticeable to the reader.
What is Juxtaposition?
It is when two ideas or words that highly contrast structurally or in their ideas are placed close together within a text often to give effect to a character or a scene.
What is a Simile?
It is when you say something is like something else. For example:
“He ran as fast as a tiger.”
It is comparing qualities of someone or something to something else. Often to help the reader visualise what the writer means by letting them see something that they know what it looks like.
We might not know how fast he is running but we know tigers are fast.
What is Personification?
It is giving an object or something inhuman and giving it human or animal qualities to bring it alive and to make its importance stand out within the text.
What is a Metaphor?
It is when something is written to mean something else. A metaphor shouldn’t be taken for face value as it probably has a more complex meaning within it and its written for a reason.
What is Enjambment?
It is when there is a lack of punctuation and breaks in a poem. There will be no stops between stanzas, line breaks or couplets.
This technique may be used to emphasise something in the poem such as the character going on a long journey which is a hard slog with no breaks.
What is Alliteration?
When you might say- Red Robert
- Silly sausage
- Funny Fred
- Joking Joe
Two words will both start with the same letter often to give a poem a nicer feeling and more rhythm as it s being read. You shouldn’t force alliteration but it can make something sound really good.
What is a Rhyming Couplet?
It is sets of words at the end of a line in a poem that rhyme with each other. They are often used to finish a poem on a satisfying high note that rhymes which may leave the reader with a higher overall opinion on the poem.
What is a Rhetorical Question?
It is a question that doesn’t require an answer and may be used in poetry to get the reader to think about a message the poet is trying to send. Such as:
How would you feel?
The poet obviously doesn’t expect an answer as you can’t talk to them but it is to get the reader to think more deeply about the poem
What is Repetition?
It is when two or more words are repeated to give more effect and notice to what they are saying.
