Poetry Flashcards
Alliteration
The repetition of the same consonant sounds at any place, but often at the beginning of words. Some famous examples of alliteration are tongue twisters.
Ambiguity/ ambiguous
Something that has more than one possible meaning and therefore possibly causing confusion. Poets deliberately use ambiguity to challenge an argument or present two possibly conflicting ideas.
Assonance
The repetition or a pattern of (the same) vowel sounds, as in the tongue twister “ Moses supposes his toeses are roses”
Colloquial
Language that is used in speech with an informal meeting; “chill”, “out of this world”
Connotation
This is an association attached to a word or phrase in addition to its dictionary definition
Enjambment
A line ending in which the sense continues, with no punctuation, into the following line or stanza
Hyperbole
A figure of speech in which deliberate exaggeration is used for emphasis.
Imagery
The use of pictures, figures of speech and description to evoke ideas, feelings, objects, actions, states of mind etc.
Irony
The humorous or sarcastic use of words or ideas, implying the opposite of what they mean.
Litotes
A figure of speech in which a positive is stated by negating its opposite. Some examples of Litoses: no small victory, not a bad idea, not unhappy
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which two thins are compared, usually by saying one thing is another, or by substituting a more descriptive word for the more common or usual word that would be expected.
Onomatopoeia
A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds
Oxymoron
Where two words normally not associated are brought together: ‘cold heat’ ‘bitter sweat’
Pathos
Language that evokes feelings of pity or sorrow
Personification
A figure of speech in which nonhuman things or abstract ideas are given human attributes: the sky is crying
Refrain
A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout the poem, usually after every stanza
Rhyme
The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words. The pattern of rhyme in a stanza or poem is shown usually by using a different letter for each final sound. In a poem with an aabba rhyme scheme, the first, second, and fifth lines end in one sound, and the third and fourth lines end in another.
Simile
A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word “like” or “as”.
Stanza
Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme.
Stress
The prominence or emphasis given to particular syllables. Stressed syllables usually stand out because they have long, rather than short, vowels, or because they have different pitch or are louder than other syllables.
Symbol/Symbolism
When a word, phrase or image ‘stands for’ and idea or theme. The sun could symbolise life and energy.
Voice
The speaker of the poem or prose, either the poet or author’s own voice or that of an invented character.
Caesura
A pause near the middle of a line.
