English literature A1 poetry glossary ; STRUCTURE

key terms + definitions

Caesura

a natural pause or break in a line of poetry , usually near the middle of the line.

Consonance

the repetition of similar consonant sounds,especially at the ends of words, e.g. “lost” and “past”

couplet

in a poem, a pair of lines that are the same length and usually rhyme and form a complete thought, commonly seen in Shakespearean sonnets

End-stopped line

a pause at the end of a line of poetry , marked by punctuation

enjambment/enjambed(“run-on lines”)

the continuation of a complete idea ( a sentence or clause) from one line or couplet without a pause , “enjambment” comes from the french word “to straddle”

lineation

the organisation of a poem into lines

octet

a stanza of 8 lines

quatrain

a stanza or poem of four lines

refrain

a line or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem

repetition

a simple device in which a word, phrase or line is repeated, has an effect of emphasis

stanza

two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem, the stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of metre and rhyme

turn

a moment of disjunction and/or renewal, creating a shift or development of the sense at a specified point in the form