Key English words & phrases to use when analysing poetry & Shakespeare Flashcards
Alliteration
The same letter at the beginning of words which are close together, eg “bright blue balloon”
Antithesis
Using opposite ideas and with parallel grammatical structures, eg “To be, or not to be.”
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.
Consonance
The same CONSONANT sound repeated within words in a phrase or stanza: “the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle.”
Couplet
Two lines one after the next, which rhyme. Often called ‘rhyming couplets’
Form
The type of poem, and/or rhythm & rhyme scheme: ballad, sonnet, free verse, blank verse etc.
Juxtaposition
When two ideas next to or very near each other are sharply contrasted in a text.
Metaphor
When something is said to be another thing, for effect eg “Her eyes were blue sapphires.”
Quatrain
A four line stanza
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)
Sextet (or sestet)
A six line stanza
Sibilance
‘s’ sounds within words near each other eg. “the silent hissing gas spread throughout the trenches”
Stanza
Verse. ie the smaller sets of 3,4 or more lines which the poem is divided into.
Structure of the poem
The ‘storyline’ or ‘shape’ of the poem: it’s beginning middle & end. Often, poets mark the structure with repetition of words or images.
Sonnet
A 14 line poem with a specific rhyme scheme
Tercet
A three line stanza
Theme
An idea or group or related images which run throughout a text.
Tone
The overall feeling of the ‘voice’ in the text
Ostranenie
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.”
Parallelism
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.
Enjambment
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.”
Tricolon
Three parallel clauses, phrases or words which follow on from each other in quick succession. Often called rule of three.
Symbolism
A generic term for using one small idea or thing to represent a larger idea. Eg a dove represents peace
