English Literature Poetry terminology

Enjambment

When lines run on without punctuation at the end.

Semantic field

A group of words all connected to a theme. E.g. whiteboard, exercise book and pencil case are all connected to the theme of school.

Connotations

The ideas associated with a word or group of words.

Denotations

The actual meaning of words.

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds, i.e Cool school.

Sibilance

The repetition of the ‘s’ sound, i.e. slithery snakes.

Consonance

The repetition of consonant sounds.

Plosive sounds

The repetition of harsh sounds, including p,b,d,k,g,t.

A quatrain

A four-line stanza.

A refrain

A repeated word or phrase.

An ABAB rhyme scheme

When alternated lines rhyme in a poem.

Which technique is used when an inanimate object is given human qualities?

Personification

Which technique is being used when an animal is given human qualities?

Anthropomorphism

Which technique is being used when a human is given animalistic qualities?

Zoomorphism

What is a paradox?

An idea that seems impossible but that has some truth to it.

What is a juxtaposition?

Contradictory words or ideas in a line or a paragraph.

What is an oxymoron?

Two words with directly opposite meanings placed next to each other.

What is a caesura?

A break/punctuation in the middle of a line of poetry.

What is free verse?

Poetry without standard uses of rhyme or metre.

What is blank verse?

A poem that uses metre but doesn’t rhyme.

What is poetic metre?

When there is an even number of syllables in a line.