ENGLISH POETRY TECHNIQUES

Metaphor

Compares two unlike things by stating/implying one is another.

Example: "The city is a ticking bomb."

Simile

Compares using "like" or "as."

Example: "Truth spread like wildfire."

Personification

Gives human qualities/actions to non-human things.

Example: "Justice sleeps while corruption prowls."

Allusion

Indirect reference to a well-known person, event, text or idea.

Example: "He was a real Romeo."

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration for emphasis.

Example: "A voice loud enough to wake the dead."

Alliteration

Repetition of the same initial consonant sound.

Example: "Silent streets, suffering souls."

Assonance

Repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Example: "Hope floats through hollow homes."

Consonance

Repetition of similar consonant sounds, especially within or at the ends of words.

Example: "The lock was stuck."

Sibilance

Repetition of s, z, sh or zh sounds, often creating a hissing effect.

Example: "The soft sea slid silently."

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates or suggests a sound.

Example: "The chains clanged."

Euphony

Pleasant, smooth or harmonious sounds.

Example: "Mellow moonlight moved softly."

Cacophony

Harsh, discordant sounds creating a jarring effect.

Example: "The clacking, crashing machinery."

Repetition

Repeating a word, phrase, sound or idea for emphasis.

Example: "We will rise. We will rise."

Anaphora

Repetition at the beginning of successive clauses/lines.

Example: "We demand justice. We demand equality."

Rhetorical question

A question asked for effect rather than an actual answer.

Example: "How long must we suffer?"

Imperative

A command or instruction.

Example: "Stand up and speak."

Listing

A series of words/ideas used to emphasise quantity or build intensity.

Example: "War, poverty, hunger and fear."

Tricolon

A series of three words, phrases or clauses for emphasis.

Example: "We resist, we rise, we reclaim."

Antithesis

Contrasting ideas presented in a balanced/parallel structure.

Example: "They have power; we have courage."

Juxtaposition

Contrasting ideas/images placed close together.

Example: "The rich feasted while the poor starved."

Oxymoron

Two contradictory words placed closely together.

Example: "Deafening silence."

Paradox

A seemingly contradictory statement or idea that reveals a deeper truth.

Example: "Less is more."

Metonymy

An associated word/concept represents something else.

Example: "The crown" = the monarchy.

Symbolism

An object, image or situation represents a larger idea.

Example: "Broken chains" = freedom.

Connotation

The emotional/associated meaning of a word beyond its literal meaning.

Example: "Home" suggests safety and belonging.

Diction

The poet's deliberate choice of words.

Example: "Beast" creates a harsher impression than "animal."

Imagery

Descriptive language that creates a sensory picture.

Example: "Bright graffiti covered the crumbling walls."

Kinaesthetic imagery

Language describing movement or physical action.

Example: "She pushed and elbowed through the crowd."

Auditory imagery

Language appealing to the sense of sound.

Example: "Angry shouts echoed through the streets."

Visual imagery

Language appealing to sight.

Example: "Red banners filled the street."

Tactile imagery

Language appealing to touch/physical sensation.

Example: "The rough fence scraped his hands."

Enjambment

A sentence continues onto the next line without terminal punctuation.

Example: "We will rise / beyond these walls."

Caesura

A deliberate pause within a line, often created by punctuation.

Example: "We will fight — we will not surrender."

Line break

Where a poetic line ends; can control emphasis, pacing or meaning.

Example: "We will / rise."

Volta

A significant shift in thought, argument, tone or emotion.

Example: A poem shifts from describing oppression to expressing hope.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of end rhymes, labelled with letters.

Example: ABAB.

Free verse

Poetry without a regular traditional rhyme or meter pattern.

Example: A poem with irregular lines and no fixed rhyme scheme.

Tone

The speaker's attitude towards the subject/audience.

Example: Angry, defiant, hopeful or accusatory.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere created for the reader.

Example: Dark imagery creates an unsettling mood.

Persona

The voice/identity adopted by the poet to speak the poem.

Example: A poet adopts the persona of a protester.