Poetic Techniques Flashcards
(25 cards)
Alliteration
The repetition at close intervals of consonant sounds for a purpose.
For example: wailing in the winter wind.
Anthropomorphism
The attribution of human characteristics, emotions, and behaviours to animals or other non-human things.
Assonance
The repetition at close intervals of vowel sounds for a purpose.
For example: mad as a hatter.
Ballad
A narrative poem that was originally meant to be sung. Ballads are generally about ordinary people who have unusual adventures, with a single tragic incident as the central focus. They contain dialogue and repetition, and imply more than they actually tell.
Consonance
The close repetition of identical consonant sounds before and after differing vowel sounds.
Emotive language
The use of descriptive words, often adjectives, that can show the reader how an author or character feels about something, evoke an emotional response from the reader, and persuade the reader of something.
Enjambment
The carrying of sense and grammatical structure in a poem beyond the end of one line, COUPLET, or STANZA and into the next.
Hyperbole
An exaggeration for emphasis or humorous effect.
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which a comparison or analogy is made between two seemingly unlike things, as in the phrase “evening of life.”
Monologue
An extended speech by one person in literature and drama.
Mood
The feeling, or atmosphere, that a writer creates for the reader. Connotative words, sensory images, and figurative language contribute to the mood of a selection, as do the sound and rhythm of the language.
Onomatopoeia
The formation or use of words. Such as: buzz, or cuckoo, whose meaning is suggested by the sound of the word itself. (boom, click, plop)
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which two contradictory words or phrases are combined in a single expression; “wise fool,” “cruel kindness.”
Pathetic Fallacy
A type of personification where emotions are given to a setting, an object or the weather.
Personification
A figure of speech in which human qualities or characteristics are given to an animal, object, or concept.
Rhythm
The arrangement of words to form a regular beat through a pattern of stresses.
Rhyme
The pattern of end rhyme in a poem.
Sibilance
When a hissing sound is created within a group of words through the repetition of “s” sound.
Similie
A figure of speech in which two seemingly unlike things are compared. The comparison is made explicit by the use of a word or phrase such as: like, as, than, similar to, resembles, or seems.
For example: He was strong as a bull.
Sonnet
A one-stanza, 14-line poem usually on the topic of love.
Soliloquy
A dramatic convention in which a character in a play, alone on stage, speaks his or her thoughts aloud. The audience is provided with information about the characters’ motives, plans, and state of mind.
Stanza
A group of lines forming a unit in a poem (a clearly demarcated part of a poem).
Symbolism
A person, object, idea or action that stands for something else. It is usually something literal that stands for something figurative.
For example: Roads can stand for choices.
Tone
The writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject.
