Poetry Techniques

English

alliteration

when several words in a row begin with the same letter

anaphora

the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of several lines in a row

asyndeton

lack of conjunctions

caesura

pause or stop in the middle of a line of poetry, marked by any form of punctuation

couplet

collection of two lines in poetry, often have the same rhyming sounds

enjambment

lack of punctuation at end of a line of poetry

foreshadowing

author/poet hints at future event

form

type of poem (may include layout on page)

free verse

poem written without formal form; may be irregular or lack regular rhyme scheme

internal rhyme

when two words have the same sound within a line of poetry

juxtaposition

when an author places two opposing ideas, objects, or figures side by side for comparative purposes

metaphor

describing something as something it literally isn’t

metre

poem’s rhythm (how many different stresses there are in a line and what those stresses are)

onomatopoeia

when a word sounds like its action

personification

giving an object/animal human characteristics

quatrain

verse of four

plosives

‘b‘, ‘d‘, ‘p‘ sounds at the beginning or within a word

polysyndeton

repetition of conjunctions

repetition

using same word twice

rhyme

when words have same sound at the end of lines of poetry

sibilance

repeated ‘s‘ or soft ‘c‘ sounds

simile

saying something is like something it literally isn’t

stanza

collection of lines together in a poem

zoomorphism

giving an object/human animal characteristics for effect