Literary Terms Flashcards
what is a full rhyme?
Monosyllabic rhyme e.g. ‘kirk’ ‘irk’ OR where rhyme exists only in the final syllable e.g. ‘rare’ ‘despair’. Often used to express certainty e.g. ‘me/thee’ or ‘flung/sprung’
what is a half rhyme?
Lines end with partly similar sounding words. Vowel sounds can differ eg dear/mare or consonants eg land/branch. Implies lack of certainty; change or instability.
what is a volta?
A turning point in a poem. Often when the tone of the poem changes.
what is an informal register?
The speaker in the poem uses colloquial language and/or dialect e.g. ‘cock and balls’
what is irony?
The opposite of what is stated is implied ‘His Grace! Impossible! What dead!’
what is an hyperbole?
exaggeration
what is a Fricative?
Repeated ‘f’ sound, emphasising force or frustration e.g. ‘fight, fight foul’
what is sibilance?
The use of s, sh, ch, th sounds
what is plosives?
The use of p, b, d, t, v sounds
what are puns?
Wordplay using homophones (words which sound the same but are spelled differently and have different meanings) e.g. ‘gilt’, ‘trump’
what are End-stopped lines?
Lines of poetry with full stops at the end. Implies finality, tension etc.
what is enjambment
A line of poetry with no punctuation at the end, running onto the next line.
what is a Euphemism?
A mild or indirect way of speaking, replacing words thought to be too crude or harsh e.g. ‘Eat me’
what is a parody?
an imitation of the style of a particular writer, artist, or genre with deliberate exaggeration for comic effect.
what is conceit?
A type of metaphor, comparing two very unlikely things in a clever, convincing way e.g. sex and a flea bite
