Poet Flashcards
What is a metre?
A metre is the rhythm of a poem, its ‘beat’ or ‘heartbeat’. It is created by where emphasis is naturally put on certain syllables within words.
What is rhythm?
Rhythm is when sounds within words sound the same as each other. It can be at the ends of lines, or within lines.
What is stanza?
A stanza is a ‘verse’ of a poem.
What is a line?
A line is one line within stanza.
What is alliteration?
Alliteration is the purposeful repetition of sounds (not necessarily letters - think ‘f’ and ‘ph’!)
What is assonance?
Assonance is a type of alliteration. It is the repetition specifically of vowel sounds.
What is consonance?
Consonance is a type of alliteration. It is the repetition specifically of consonant sounds.
What is sibilance?
Sibilance is a type consonance. It is the repetition specifically of ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘z’ and ‘zh’ sounds.
What is repetition?
Repetition is when a word, phrase, sentences, idea, or even whole stanza is purposefully written more than once throughout a poem.
What is juxtaposition?
Juxtaposition is when two opposite or contrasting ideas are placed near each other.
What is a caesura?
Caesura is when there’s a forced break in a line. This might be created by putting a semi-colon, full stop, hyphen, colon or ellipsis in the middle of the line. It could also be created by breaking off one line, and indenting the following line.
What is enjambment?
Enjambment is when a line does not end with any punctuation, but ‘runs on’ into the next line. If you are reading it, you might not be aware there’s a line break in between them.
What is an oxymoron?
An oxymoron is a ‘contradiction in terms’. It is when two opposite or incompatible words are placed right next to each other.
What is a simile?
A simile is a way of describing something by comparing it to something else using the words “as” or “like”.
What is a metaphor?
A metaphor is a way of describing something by saying it is something else, to draw out certain qualities it has.
