Figurative language

Alliteration

• The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Ex: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

• The attitude the poem’s narrator (this may or may not be the actual poet) takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, concerned, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective, etc.

• The central meaning or dominant message the poet is trying to deliver to the reader.

• The recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry. Depending on how sounds are arranged, the _____ of a poem may be fast or slow, choppy or smooth.

Allusion

• Poetry that does not rhyme or have a measurable meter.

• A brief reference to a real or fictional person, event, place, or work of art.

• An object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.

• The measured arrangement of sounds/beats in a poem, including the poet’s placement of emphasis and the number of syllables per line.

Assonance

• The repetition of vowel sounds in a chunk of text. Ex: “Ivan will try to light the fire.”

• A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.” Ex: Love is like a battlefield.

• A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things without using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.” Ex: Love is a battlefield.

• This occurs when one line ends without a pause or any punctuation and continues onto the next line. Ex: If this were a poem, this would be an example of the technique.

Ballad

• A story/narrative in poetic form.

• The author’s specific word choice.

• A word that sounds like what it means. Ex: buzz, click, bang, sizzle

• A single line of poetry.

Consonance

• The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, in a chunk of text. Ex: A worm named Maurice took the garden by storm.

• The repetition of vowel sounds in a chunk of text. Ex: “Ivan will try to light the fire.”

• The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Ex: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

• A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things without using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.” Ex: Love is a battlefield.

Diction

• The author’s specific word choice.

• Poetry that does not rhyme or have a measurable meter.

• A single line of poetry.

• An object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.

Enjambment

• This occurs when one line ends without a pause or any punctuation and continues onto the next line. Ex: If this were a poem, this would be an example of the technique.

• A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.” Ex: Love is like a battlefield.

• The occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words. Ex: “From forth the fatal loins of these two foes; A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life.”

• The measured arrangement of sounds/beats in a poem, including the poet’s placement of emphasis and the number of syllables per line.

Free Verse

• Poetry that does not rhyme or have a measurable meter.

• A unified group of lines in poetry. This is often marked by spacing between sections of the poem.

• The attitude the poem’s narrator (this may or may not be the actual poet) takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, concerned, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective, etc.

• An object or action that means something more than its literal meaning.

Metaphor

• A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things without using connecting words, such as “like” or “as.” Ex: Love is a battlefield.

• The repetition of consonant sounds, but not vowels, in a chunk of text. Ex: A worm named Maurice took the garden by storm.

• The recurrence of stressed and unstressed sounds in poetry. Depending on how sounds are arranged, the _____ of a poem may be fast or slow, choppy or smooth.

• The attitude the poem’s narrator (this may or may not be the actual poet) takes towards a subject or character: serious, humorous, sarcastic, ironic, concerned, tongue-in-cheek, solemn, objective, etc.

Meter

• The measured arrangement of sounds/beats in a poem,

• A single line of poetry.

• The repetition of vowel sounds in a chunk of text. Ex: “Ivan will try to light the fire.”

• A unified group of lines in poetry. This is often marked by spacing between sections of the poem.