literary terms Flashcards
speaker
the voice that tells the story in a poem
first/second/third person
‘I’ - more personal
‘you’ - often an intimate relationship
‘he’ - can seem objective/factual
stanza
a verse in a poem
end stop
punctuation at the end of a line of poetry, often to mark an ending
caesura
a pause in a line of poetry
enjambment
one line of poetry running onto the next with no punctuation, often to speed up a poem or show a lack of control
semantic field
words relating to the same idea, e.g. ‘stitch’ and ‘pleat’ related to clothing
refrain
a chorus in a poem, repeated at different points
onomatopoeia
words that sound like the sound they’re describing
sibilance
repeated ‘s’ sounds, often to create a threatening atmosphere
anaphora
starting several lines in a row with the same word or words
rhetorical question
questions that do not require an answer
noun
Name of a person, place, thing or idea
adjective
word to describe a person, place, thing or idea
verb
action that you can do with your body (e.g. run) heart (e.g. panic) or head (e.g. consider)
