English EoY revision Flashcards
Alliteration
The same letter/sound at the beginning of words which are close together, eg “bright blue balloon
Anecdote
A short personal story which illustrates the point or idea being discussed
Assonance
The same VOWEL (a,e,i,o,u) sound repeated in a phrase or stanza. eg “insistent drizzle irritating me.”
Ballad
A usually long poem in regular stanzas which tells a story. eg The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Caesura
A break or pause in the middle of a line of poetry, usually signalled by punctuation like a full stop.
Clause
A phrase which is a ‘thought’, usually with a subject and verb eg “The tiger growled.
Climax
The most intense, gripping moment in a story; the top of the five-part ‘mountain’
Complex sentence
A sentence where at least one clause is dependent on the main clause. Eg “The tiger, which was a particularly fierce one, growled when it saw the hyena approach.”
Compound sentence
A sentence with two independent clauses eg “The tiger growled but it was not looking for its prey.” and a connective joining them.
Consonance
The same CONSONANT sound repeated within words in a phrase or stanza: “the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle.”
Enjambment
When a sentence in a verse does not end where the line ends.eg
“A snake came to my water trough
On a hot, hot day, and I in pyjamas for the heat
To drink there.
Metaphor
When something is said to be another thing, for effect eg “Her eyes were blue sapphires.”
Narrator - first person
Writing told from the writer’s point of view. Eg “I woke up and I thought about breakfast..”
Narrator - third person
Writing where the writer uses the third person eg, “She drew her sword. He prepared to defend himself.”
Onomatopoeia
When a word sounds like what it means. Eg ‘whisper’ or ‘crackle’.
Persona
The narrator ‘character’ in a piece of writing. Usually in first person writing the “I” is not actually the author him/herself talking, but a first person ‘character’.
Prose
Writing which is continuous and not a poem. Eg any novel or short story.
Repetition
When a phrase or word is used several times. eg “The dark night gave way to a dark day.”
Rhyme
When two words have the same ending sound. The spelling is NOT necessarily the same; it’s the sound that matters eg “slaughter / water”
Rhythm
The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. eg A common rhyme scheme is iambic pentameter = 5 x de dum. (unstressed, stressed)
Sibilance
The repetition of ‘s’ or ‘sh’ in words close together. Eg “Slithering silently the snake hissed”
Simile
When you compare an object person or thing to something else using ‘like’ or ‘as’.
Simple sentence
A sentence which has a subject, verb and object. Eg “The dog ate a bone.”
Stanza
Verse. ie the smaller sets of 3, 4 or more lines which the poem is divided into.
Structure
The ‘storyline’ or ‘shape’ of the text: it’s beginning middle & end. Also the rise & fall in tension.
Sonnet
A 14 line poem with a specific rhyme scheme; see
http://literarydevices.net/sonnet/
Symbolism
A general word which means using one small idea or thing to represent a larger idea. Eg a dove represents peace, or a leaf could represent nature.
Theme
An idea or group of related images which run throughout a text.
Tone
The overall feeling of the author’s voice in the text.
Viewpoint
The perspective or point of view from which a writer is writing. ie 1st, 2nd or 3rd person
