Poetic Terms Flashcards
Cyclical Structure
1) Cyclical or circular structure. This ends where it begins or begins at the end
2) This structure hooks the reader and makes us curious about how the characters ended up where they are
Voice Speaker
1) The voice, or speaker, is the person behind the words of the poem
2) The distinctive tone and style of the voice enables the reader to get to know the speaker
3) The speaker is not the same as the poet
Perspective
Perspective is the point of view from which the poem is written and is usually the third person or first person, past or present
What is the effect of first person present tense?
The first person present tense creates a sense of closeness as if the speaker is nearby
Persona
If the voice in the poem is a specific person or character, rather like an actor playing a role, we refer to it as a persona
What is the effect of Persona?
The effect is to create a dramatic voice, as though the character is center stage, addressing an audience
Mood
The mood is the tone or atmosphere created by the poet
Voice, vocabulary, rhythm and other techniques all combine to create the mood of the poem. Mood affects the reader’s feelings
Colloquialism
Everyday language, which may include regional expressions or slang, is described as colloquial
What is the effect of colloquialism?
The effect is to help create a sense of the commonplace so that the reader feels that the events and feelings in the poem, however important, are also part of an ordinary life
Structure
Structure is the pattern, order or organization of language and ideas and how they develop and change throughout the poem
Enjambment
Enjambment occurs when a line runs on into the next line without pause, carrying the thought, image, pace and sometimes the sound with it
Caesura
Caesura is a pause in a line of poetry that effects the pace and rhythm
Stanza
A stanza is a specific group of lines forming a unit, such as a quatrain
A verse can be any number of lines that are grouped together and does not necessarily follow any specific pattern
Metre
Metre is the pattern of stressed abd unstressed syllables in a line of verse
The most common metre in English is iambic pentameter
Half-Rhyme
A rhyme is a half-rhyme if it has the same consonants but not the same vowel sound
Imagery
An image is a picture in words that makes objects, living things or actions feel more vivid in the reader’s mind
It often appeals to the sense of slight, but may appeal to the other senses too
Metaphor
A metaphor is a particular kind of image. It occurs when one thing is used to describe another, creating a striking impression
Extended Metaphor
An extended metaphor continues some aspect of the image. It may continue into the next line or thoughout the poem
Simile
A simile occurs when one thing is compared to another using ‘like’ or ‘as’
Connotation
Connotations are ideas that spring to mind or are suggested by a word or phrase
Personification
Personifcation occurs when ideas or things are given human feelings and characterisitics
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound (not necessarily the same letter) in a stretch of language, often at the beginning of words
Assonance
Assonance is the repetition of the same vowel sound in a stretch of lnaguage
Consonance
Consonance is the repetition of the same consonant sound in a stretch of language.
It is different from alliteration because, unlike alliteration, it concerns consonant sounds only
Ambiguity
Ambiguity occurs when writers, perhaps deliberately, use words or images with more than one meaning or interpretation
Sibilant
The sibilant is a hissing sound made by using ‘s’, ‘ss’, ‘sh, ‘z’
