Poetry Techniques Flashcards
Allusion
Reference (usually indirect) to a preson, text or event. Biblical, mythological, intertextual.
Antithesis
Two sentences with contrasting meanings in close proximity to one another.
Asyndeton
Listing of words or phrases without a conjunction
Polysyndeton
Listing of words with many conjunctions
Caesura
A grammatical pause or break in a line of poetry. Can be indicated by -
Colloquial Language
Informal Language
Couplet
Structure of poetry where there are two lines of verse in a poem
Disjunction
A conjunction that dramatically interrupts rhythm in a sentence (e.g. but or yet)
Ellipsis
… dramatic pause that suggests words can’t be spoken or creates tension
Emotive Language
Words that stir the readers emotion
Enjambment
A sentence that runs over more than one line (or stanza) or a poem. Assists the flow of the poem
Enjambment
A sentence that runs over more than one line (or stanza) or a poem. Assists the flow of the poem
Epigraph
A quotation at the beginning of a literary work that suggests its theme
Epistrophe
Repetition of a word at the end of successive phrases, clauses, sentences or verses.
Euphony
Phrases that possess an extensive degree of notable loveliness.
Figurative Language
Language that’s intended to create an image, association, or another effect in the mind of the listener or reader that goes beyond the literal meaning or expected use of the words involved.
Foreshadowing
Indicative words or phrases that hint at an upcoming outcome.
Free verse
Poetic style that lacks a regular meter or rhyme scheme.
Imagery
Vivid pictures created by words.
Pronouns
A word that can function as a noun phrase used by itself and that refers either to the participants in the discourse (e.g. I, you) or to someone or something mentioned elsewhere in the discourse (e.g. she, it, this).
Sentence Types
The way a sentence expresses itself through the four types.
Sound devices
A literary tool employed in verse plays, poetry, and prose to emphasize various sounds.
Stanza
Paragraphs in Poems
Symbol
A sign representing something other than itself
Motif
A symbol repeated throughout the text
