ENL3 Final Exam Review - Poetic Device/Figurative Language Section

Inversion

Definition: A change in the normal word order or syntax.
Example: Ode to a Nightingale: “In some melodious plot / Singest of summer in full-throated ease.”
Effect: Highlights key words and creates a lyrical, elevated tone, drawing attention to the imagery and enhancing the musicality of the poem.

Allusion

Definition: Reference to a person, place, event, or work outside the poem with historical or emotional meaning.
Example: Ode to a Nightingale: Greek Mythology, Bacchus (Line 32): The god of wine and ecstasy.
Effect: Adds depth and complexity, connecting the poem to larger themes of humanity and wanting to escape the sinful life of humans.

Anaphora

Definition: Repetition of a word or phrase at the start of successive lines, clauses, or sentences.
Example: Sadness by Sumana Roy: “sadness is-” repeated at the beginning of multiple lines.
Effect: Reinforces the persistence of emotion, creates rhythm, and gives the poem a meditative, haunting quality.

Theme

Definition: A universal idea or message explored in a literary work.
Example: Every Girl is Dinner: struggles of womanhood.
Effect: Guides reader interpretation and communicates the author’s commentary on societal issues and gender-based vulnerabilities.

Speaker

Definition: The voice or character expressing feelings or telling the story in a poem.
Example: Ode to a Nightingale: the speaker reflects on mortality and the desire to escape human suffering.
Effect: Shapes perspective and tone, allowing readers to connect emotionally with the speaker’s thoughts and feelings.

Denotation

Definition: The literal meaning of a word or phrase.
Example: Sea Rose: “rose” literally refers to the flower.
Effect: Grounds imagery in reality, allowing figurative and symbolic meanings to build on a clear, literal foundation.

Connotation

Definition: Emotional or cultural associations beyond the literal meaning of a word.
Example: Sea Rose: the rose symbolizes resilience and uniqueness.
Effect: Enriches symbolism, giving imagery additional emotional depth and reinforcing the poem’s message about strength and individuality.

Addressee

Definition: The person or group to whom the poem is directed.
Example: Ode to a Nightingale: the nightingale is the addressee.
Effect: Shapes tone and focus, emphasizing admiration or emotional intimacy, and guiding the reader’s attention to the speaker’s feelings.

Metaphor

Definition: A figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”
Example: Every Girl is Dinner: women compared to meat.
Effect: Highlights vulnerability and objectification, emphasizing social critique and evoking strong emotional responses from the reader.

Simile

Definition: A comparison using “like” or “as.”
Example: Every Girl is Dinner: “daughterhood like a young goat crossing a highway.”
Effect: Emphasizes fragility and danger, making the reader feel the precariousness of the speaker’s experience.

Synecdoche

Definition: Using a part to represent the whole.
Example: “Wheels” for a car.
Effect: Creates concise, vivid imagery and allows the reader to visualize broader concepts through a single, tangible element.

Enjambment

Definition: When a sentence continues past the end of a line without pause.
Example: Sea Rose: “You are lifted / in the crisp sand / that drives in the wind.”
Effect: Maintains flow and momentum, mirroring natural movement or thought, and emphasizing the continuity of action or imagery.

Caesura

Definition: A pause within a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation.
Example: Sea Rose: “Rose, harsh rose, / marred and with stint of petals, / meagre flower, thin, / sparse of leaf,”
Effect: Creates rhythm and emphasis, allowing the reader to pause and reflect on specific words or images.

Ode

Definition: A serious, formal poem where the speaker addresses someone or something admired.
Example: Ode to a Nightingale by John Keats.
Effect: Elevates the subject, conveys reverence and admiration, and emphasizes the beauty or significance of the object or idea.

Lyric

Definition: A short poem where the speaker shares personal thoughts or feelings, usually in the first person.
Example: Sadness by Sumana Roy.
Effect: Offers intimate insight into the speaker’s emotions, creating a personal connection between poet and reader.

Personification

Definition: Giving human traits to nonhuman things.
Example: To Brooklyn Bridge: “the bridge lifts his massive arch.”
Effect: Makes inanimate objects relatable and emphasizes their power or presence in the poem.

Alliteration

Definition: Repetition of the same consonant sound at the start of words in a series.
Example: To Brooklyn Bridge: “Shedding white rings of tumult, building high.”
Effect: Creates musicality, rhythm, and emphasis, drawing attention to specific phrases or ideas.

Tone

Definition: The poem’s attitude or feelings about its topic.
Example: Every Girl is Dinner: anger and pain.
Effect: Shapes the reader’s emotional response and reinforces the poem’s theme.

Syllable

Definition: A unit of spoken language consisting of a single uninterrupted sound.
Example: Haiku by Matsuo Bashō: 5-7-5 syllable structure.
Effect: Structures the poem, enforcing rhythm and aiding in the compact expression of imagery.

Meter

Definition: Pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a poem.
Example: How do I Love Thee: iambic pentameter.
Effect: Creates rhythm, musicality, and can emphasize certain ideas or emotions.

Feet

Definition: The number of stresses in a line of poetry.
Example: Iambic pentameter = 5 feet per line.
Effect: Organizes rhythm and pace, giving the poem a predictable structure and musical quality.

Sonnet

Definition: A 14-line poem, usually in iambic pentameter, following a rhyme scheme.
Example: How do I Love Thee by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
Effect: Conveys structured, intense emotion, often focused on love or philosophical reflection.

Asyndeton

Definition: Omitting conjunctions to speed up rhythm or emphasize ideas.
Example: “I came, I saw, I conquered.”
Effect: Creates urgency, intensity, and memorability, drawing attention to the sequence of ideas.

Accentual-syllabic verse

Definition: Verse with a set number of stressed and unstressed syllables, organized into feet.
Example: How do I Love Thee: iambic pentameter.
Effect: Provides formal structure and musical rhythm, reinforcing the poem’s emotional tone.

Stressed SYllable

Definition: Longer, louder, higher-pitched syllable in a word.
Example: America by Claude McKay: “Giv/ing me strength erect against her hate.”
Effect: Emphasizes key words and creates rhythmic patterning that mirrors meaning or tone.

Genre

Definition: A response or reaction to a situation; type of literature.
Example: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas: utopian fiction.
Effect: Sets reader expectations and frames the interpretation of themes or ideas.

Pastoral

Definition: A genre rooted in Greek/Roman poetry, depicting shepherds and rural life.
Example: Lycidas by John Milton.
Effect: Uses nature as a backdrop for emotional or moral reflection, often idealizing simplicity.

Elegy

Definition: Poem written to honor someone’s death.
Example: Lycidas by John Milton.
Effect: Conveys mourning and reflection, creating solemnity and emotional depth.

Apostrophe

Definition: Addressing a person who is not present or a personified object.
Example: Lycidas: “O ye laurels.” (references to laurels, myrtles, and nymphs)
Effect: Adds drama and emphasis (grief and seeking inspiration), allowing the speaker to engage directly with abstract ideas or absent entities.

Hyperbole

Definition: Bold or exaggerated claim not meant literally, for emphasis or effect.
Example: America by Claude McKay: “Although she feeds me bread of bitterness.”
Effect: Intensifies emotion and emphasizes the speaker’s strong feelings about injustice and oppression.

Symbol

Definition: Word, object, character, or color representing an idea.
Example: Bloodchild: cages represent control and confinement.
Effect: Reinforces themes and creates cohesion across the narrative.

Motif

Definition: A recurring element, device, or situation in a work.
Example: Bloodchild: relationships between T’gatoi and Gan/Gan’s mother.
Effect: Reinforces themes of power dynamics, & relationships while raising questions about the characters and narrative.

Consonance

Definition: Repetition of consonant sounds in nearby words.
Example: To Brooklyn Bridge: “Shedding white rings of tumult, building high.”
Effect: Enhances musicality, emphasizes phrases, and adds texture to the language.