Terminology Flashcards
Metre
Metre is the rhythm of a poem, its ‘beat’ or ‘heartbeat’. It is created by where emphasis in naturally put on certain syllables within words.
Stanza
A stanza is a ‘verse’ of a poem.
Rhyme
Rhyme is when sounds within words sound the same as each other. It can be at the end of lines, or within lines.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the purposeful repetition of sounds (not necessarily letters - think ‘f’ and ‘ph’!)
Assonance
Assonance is a type of alliteration. It is the repetition specifically of vowel sounds.
Line
A line is one word within a stanza.
Consonance
Consonance is a type of alliteration. It is the repetition specifically of consonant sounds.
Sibilance
Sibilance is a type of consonance. It is the repetition specifically of ‘s’, ‘sh’, ‘z’ ‘zh’ sounds.
Repetition
Repetition is when a word, phrase, sentence, idea, or even
whole stanza is purposefully written more than once
throughout a poem.
Juxtaposition
Juxtaposition is when two opposite or contrasting ideas are placed near each other.
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.
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.
Oxymoron
An oxymoron is a ‘contradiction in terms’. It is when two opposite or incompatible words are placed right next to
each other.
Simile
A simile is a way of describing something by comparing it to
something else using the words “as” or “like”.
Metaphor
A metaphor is a way of describing something by saying it is
something else, to draw out certain qualities it has.
