Language Features

What is a simile?

A comparison using 'like' or 'as'.

What is a metaphor?

A comparison saying one thing is another.

What is personification?

Giving human qualities to something non-human.

What is alliteration?

Repeating initial consonant sounds in nearby words.

What is sibilance?

Repeating 's' or 'sh' sounds.

What is onomatopoeia?

A word that imitates a sound, such as 'buzz'.

What is imagery?

Descriptive language that creates pictures or sensations.

What is visual imagery?

Language that helps readers picture something.

What is symbolism?

Using something to represent a bigger idea.

What is repetition?

Repeating words or phrases for emphasis.

What is a rhetorical question?

A question asked for effect, not an answer.

What is hyperbole?

Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis.

What is contrast?

Showing differences between two things or ideas.

What is juxtaposition?

Placing contrasting ideas or images close together.

What is irony?

A contrast between what is expected and what happens or is meant.

What is tone?

The speaker's attitude towards the subject.

What is mood?

The feeling created for the reader.

What is a connotation?

An idea or feeling associated with a word.

What is diction?

The poet's choice of words.

What is enjambment?

When a sentence continues beyond the end of a line.

What is caesura?

A pause within a line of poetry, often marked by punctuation.

What is end-stopping?

When a line ends with a natural pause or punctuation.

What is a stanza?

A group of lines in a poem.

What is a rhyme scheme?

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem.

What is rhythm?

The pattern of beats or stresses in language.

What is free verse?

Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or metre.

What is a speaker in poetry?

The voice speaking in the poem, not necessarily the poet.

What is a refrain?

A line or phrase repeated throughout a poem.

What is a rhetorical effect of short sentences or lines?

They can create emphasis, tension or a sudden pause.

What is a rhetorical effect of enjambment?

It can create flow, pace or a sense of continuing thought.

What is a rhetorical effect of repetition?

It emphasises an important idea or emotion.