Poetic Devises Flashcards
Allusion
A reference to a place, event, literary work, myth, or work of art outside the text, either directly or by implication.
Aside
Words spoken aside or in an undertone, so as to be inaudible to some person present; words spoken by an actor, which the other performers, on the stage are supposed to not hear.
Assonance
The repetition of similar vowels in the stressed syllables of successive words.
Aliteration
The repetition of consonants at the beginning of two or more words immediately succeeding each other, or at short intervals.
Blank Verse
Unrhymed iambic pentameter.
Conflict
A struggle between two or more forces that creates tension that must be resolved.
Couplet
Two lines of verse, usually in the same meter and joined by rhyme, forming a unit.
Enjambment
The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
Foreshadowing
Suggesting, hinting, indicating, or showing what will occur later in the narrative. Foreshadowing often provides hints about what will happen next.
Free Verse
Poetry that does not rhyme or or have regular meter.
Free Verse
Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular meter
Hyperbole
Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Iambic Pentameter
The metrical pattern Shakespeare employs: 5 iambs per line
Imagery
A series of words that evokes a sense impression
Visual imagery - sight, auditory imagery - sound, tactile imagery - touch, gustatory imagery - taste, olfactory imagery - smell
Irony
The contrast between the apparent situation and the real situation
Verbal: a contrast between what someone says and what they mean, situational: a contrast between what it seems like will happen and what really does happen, dramatic: a contrast between what the audience or characters know and what another character doesn’t know
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared to suggest similarity
Mood
General atmosphere created by a piece of writing
Onomatopoeia
The formation of a word from a sound associated with what it is named
Oxymoron
A figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction
Personification
The attribution of human characteristics to something nonhuman, or the representation of an abstract quality In human form
Plot Structure
Rising action: a series of events that lead to the climax, climax: turning point of a narrative work; its point of highest tension or drama or when the action starts in which the solution is given, Falling action: events that occur after the climax but before the resolution, resolution: the end piece of writing that usually resolves the conflict
Prologue
An introductory section to a piece of work
Pun
The use of a word in such a way to suggest two or more meanings or different associations, or two or more words of the same or nearly the same sound with different meanings, so as to produce a humorous affect
Setting
Where and when something takes place
Simile
A figure of speech in which two unlike things are compared using like or as to suggest similarity
Soliloquy
A monologue spoken by an actor at a point in the play when the character believes himself to be alone. The technique frequently reveals a characters innermost thoughts, including his feelings, state of mind, motives or intentions. The soliloquy often provides necessary but otherwise inaccessible information to the audience. This is always believed to be true by the character.
Sonnet
A lyric poem of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter, with rhymes arranged according to certain definite patterns.
Speaker
The specific voice of the poem
Subtext
The underlying or implicit meaning that is communicated indirectly
Symbolism
Using symbols to represent ideas or qualities
Theme
A central idea or statement that unifies and controls an entire literary work; the insight gained by the reader into some nuance of the human personality or general condition
Tone
General character or altitude of a piece
