POETRY English
Definitions Diction: Choice of words.
Dramatic monologue: The poet
Alliteration: Repetition of consonant
deliberately speaks in the voice of
sounds ‘Peter Piper picked a peck of
an assumed character.
pickled peppers.’
Enjambment: A line with no
Allusion: A literary, biblical or other
punctuation at the end that runs
reference. The saying ‘Don’t cry wolf’
naturally onto the next line and
is an allusion to Aesop’s fable called
requires no pause.
‘The boy who cried wolf’.
Free verse: No regular rhythm,
Anthropomorphism: An animal is given
rhyme, structure. It operates on
human qualities. Eg. ‘The dog grinned
normal speech rhythms.
in delight.’
Hyperbole: Gross exaggeration
Anti-climax: A disappointing end/drop
used for effect. ‘I am as ugly as a
from serious to trivial, used
bear.’
deliberately for effect. ‘I’m getting
famous…sort of.’
Apostrophe: The poet directly Iambic pentameter: A line of
addresses a person who is not present, verse with 5 metrical feet,
a dead person, an inanimate object or consisting of alternate stressed
an abstract idea. ‘Death be not proud’ and unstressed syllables.
by John Donne Imagery: Visual pictures created
Assonance: Repetition of vowel sounds. in words. It relies heavily on
‘How now brown cow?’ figures of speech.
Atmosphere: The feeling that is Irony: The opposite meaning of
created by the poet. peaceful, what is said OR the outcome of
romantic, busy, hopeless events that is opposite to what is
Blank verse: Unrhymed iambic expected.
pentameter. (Most of Shakespeare’s Juxtaposition: The placement of
plays are written in blank verse) contrasting ideas/images next to
Climax: A heightened emotional effect one another
a build-up of words/images
Message: The point the poet wishes to make.
Metaphor: A direct comparison. ‘She sailed into the room.’
Mood: The way readers feel while reading a poem.
Onomatopoeia: A word that sounds like the actual sound it describes. ‘crash’, ‘buzz’
Oxymoron: Two contradictory words placed next to each other. Eg. ‘a dull shine’
Pace: The speed at which the poem, or particular lines, are read.
Paradox: A seemingly contradictory statement that actually makes sense. ‘Everyone is
unique and therefore no one is unique.’
Personification: A metaphor in which an inanimate object is given human qualities. ‘The
moonlight danced over the water.’
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