Key English words & phrases to use when analysing poetry & Shakespeare

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

The same letter at the beginning of words which are close together, eg “bright blue balloon”

Question 2

Antithesis

Answer 2

Using opposite ideas and with parallel grammatical structures, eg “To be, or not to be.”

Question 3

Assonance

Answer 3

The same VOWEL (a,e,i,o,u) sound repeated in a phrase or stanza. eg “insistent drizzle irritating me.”

Question 4

Ballad

Answer 4

A usually long poem in regular stanzas which tells a story.

Question 5

Consonance

Answer 5

The same CONSONANT sound repeated within words in a phrase or stanza: “the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle.”

Question 6

Couplet

Answer 6

Two lines one after the next, which rhyme. Often called ‘rhyming couplets’

Question 7

Form

Answer 7

The type of poem, and/or rhythm & rhyme scheme: ballad, sonnet, free verse, blank verse etc.

Question 8

Juxtaposition

Answer 8

When two ideas next to or very near each other are sharply contrasted in a text.

Question 9

Metaphor

Answer 9

When something is said to be another thing, for effect eg “Her eyes were blue sapphires.”

Question 10

Quatrain

Answer 10

A four line stanza

Question 11

Repetition

Answer 11

When a phrase or word is used several times. eg “The dark night gave way to a dark day.”

Question 12

Rhyme

Answer 12

When two words have the same ending sound. The spelling is NOT necessarily the same; it’s the sound that matters eg “slaughter / water”

Question 13

Rhythm

Answer 13

The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. eg A common rhyme scheme is iambic pentameter = 5 x de dum. (unstressed, stressed)

Question 14

Sextet (or sestet)

Answer 14

A six line stanza

Question 15

Sibilance

Answer 15

‘s’ sounds within words near each other eg. “the silent hissing gas spread throughout the trenches”

Question 16

Stanza

Answer 16

Verse. ie the smaller sets of 3,4 or more lines which the poem is divided into.

Question 17

Structure of the poem

Answer 17

The ‘storyline’ or ‘shape’ of the poem: it’s beginning middle & end. Often, poets mark the structure with repetition of words or images.

Question 18

Sonnet

Answer 18

A 14 line poem with a specific rhyme scheme

Question 19

Tercet

Answer 19

A three line stanza

Question 20

Theme

Answer 20

An idea or group or related images which run throughout a text.

Question 21

Tone

Answer 21

The overall feeling of the ‘voice’ in the text

Question 22

Ostranenie

Answer 22

Making familiar objects seem strange, with the purpose of enhancing understanding. Eg “Rain is when the earth is television/ It has the property of making colours darker.”

Question 23

Parallelism

Answer 23

An umbrella term which refers to the use of repeated words, or grammatical structures, (or even groups of ideas) in writing, which often create a sort of rhythm.

Question 24

Enjambment

Answer 24

When a sentence in a verse does not end where the line ends.
“I almost love you
but would have cast, I know
the stones of silence.”

Question 25

Tricolon

Answer 25

Three parallel clauses, phrases or words which follow on from each other in quick succession. Often called rule of three.

Question 26

Symbolism

Answer 26

A generic term for using one small idea or thing to represent a larger idea. Eg a dove represents peace