poetic techniques

Alliteration

Repeating consonant sounds at the start of words (“morning’s minion”). Creates atmosphere and makes lines memorable.

Atmosphere

The mood or feeling created by the language of a text.

Context

The surrounding circumstances of a text.

Couplet

Two back-to-back rhyming lines (AA).

Ellipsis

Leaving out words that are understood from context (All things [which are] counter...).

Emotive Language

Words designed to create an emotional response.

Figurative Language

Words that go beyond their literal meaning ( simile, metaphor, personification).

Form

The shape, style, and structure of a text.

Free Verse

Poetry without rhyme or regular rhythm.

Hyperbole

Exaggeration for emphasis or humor (I’ve told you a million times!).

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses.

Types of imagery

Visual (sight), Auditory (sound), Tactile (touch), Olfactory (smell), Gustatory (taste), Kinaesthetic (movement)

Irony

When there’s a contrast between what is said and what is actually meant.

Metaphor

Describing one thing as another (Life is a dream).

Ode

A long, serious poem with deep emotions.

Onomatopoeia

Words that sound like what they mean (bang, whoosh)

Personification

Giving human traits to non-human things (e.g., “the lonely road”).

Pun

A play on words with double meanings (e.g., “grave” in “a grave man”).

Repetition

Repeating words, phrases, or ideas for emphasis.

Rhyme

Similar-sounding words in poetry (e.g., “night/delight”).

Types of rhyme

Exact Rhyme: Identical sounds (e.g., “odd/God”), Slant Rhyme: Similar but not exact (e.g., “have/love”), End Rhyme: At the end of lines, Internal Rhyme: Inside a line, Masculine Rhyme: One-syllable rhyme (e.g., “pan/man”), Feminine Rhyme: Two-syllable rhyme (e.g., “direction/dejection”), Triple Rhyme: Three-syllable rhyme (e.g., “wittily/prettily”)

Rhyme Scheme

The pattern of rhymes in a poem (e.g., AABB).

Rhythm

The beat or flow of a poem, created by stressed and unstressed syllables.

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem (like a paragraph for poetry).

Stress

The emphasis placed on certain syllables in speech.

Structure

How a text is organized.

Style

How an author writes (e.g., formal, poetic, scientific).

Theme

The central idea of a text.

Tone

The writer’s attitude toward the subject or audience.