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Poetry terms
Key poetry language features and their definitions GCSE English Ormerod
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Alliteration | the first letter of a word is repeated in words that follow; the cold, crisp, crust of clean, clear ice. |
| Assonance | the same vowel sound is repeated but the consonants are different; he passed her a sharp, dark glance, shot a cool, foolish look across the room. |
| Colloquial | language that is used in speech with an informal meaning; 'chill', 'out of this world', 'take a rain check'. |
| Dialect | the version of language spoken by particular people in a particular area, such as Scots. |
| Dialogue | conversation between two people; sometimes an imagined conversation between the narrator and the reader. |
| Dissonance | a discordant combinations of sounds; the clash, spew and slow pang of grinding waves against the quay. |
| Enjambment | a device used in poetry where a sentence continues beyond the end of the line or verse. This technique is often used to maintain a sense of continuation from one stanza to another. |
| Hyperbole | exaggerating something for literary purposes which is not meant to be taken literally; we gorged on the banquet of beans on toast. |
| Imagery | similes, metaphors and personification; they all compare something 'real' with something 'imagined'. |
| Irony | the humorous or sarcastic use of words or ideas, implying the opposite of what they mean. |
| Metaphor | a word or phrase used to imply figurative, not literal or 'actual', resemblance; he flew into the room. Making a comparison without using 'like' or 'as'. |
| Onomatopoeia | a word that sounds like the noise it is describing: 'splash', 'bang', 'pop', 'hiss'. |
| Oxymoron | where two words normally not associated are brought together: 'cold heat' 'bitter sweet'. |
| Pathetic fallacy | attributing human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example, angry clouds; a cruel wind. |
| Pathos | language that evokes feelings of pity or sorrow. |
| Personification | attributing a human quality to a thing or idea: the moon calls me to her darkened world. |
| Repetition | the repetition of a word or phrase to achieve a particular effect. |
| Rhyme | the way that words sound the same at the end of lines in poetry. Poems often have a fixed rhyme-scheme. |
| Rhythm | a repetitive beat or metre within a poem. |
| Simile | a phrase which establishes similarity between two things to emphasise the point being made. This usually involves the words 'like' or 'as'; 'he is as quick as an arrow in flight', 'as white as snow', 'like a burning star'. |
| Symbolism | often objects, colours, sounds and places work as symbols. give us a good insight into the themes e.g. snakes are often symbols of temptation as in the story of Adam and Eve and white usually symbolises innocence |
| Tone | the writer's tone or voice or atmosphere or feeling that pervades the text, such as sadness, gloom, celebration, joy, anxiety, dissatisfaction, regret or anger. |
| Register | this is the common thread in an author's choice of language. |
| Anaphora | repetition of a word or expression at the beginning of successive phrases, clauses, sentences, or verses |
| Caesura | a break, usually in the middle, of a line of poetry |
| End stopped line | full stops at the end of lines that create short, clipped sentences. |
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