ENGLISH POETIC TECHNIQUES TEST

alliteration: the audible (can be heard) repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words or
within words; e.g. listen to the “m” sounds and “d” sounds in The Windhover by Hopkins:
I caught this morning morning’s minion, king–
dom of daylight’s dauphin, dapple-dawn-drawn Falcon...
Alliteration is often used to create atmosphere; it sounds appealing and it makes lines of poetry
memorable. The specific purpose depends on the letters used. Repetition of hard “t” sounds and “d”
sounds gives a sharp, tough feel; “sl” provides a wet, slippery image, while the softer “m” and “n”
create warmth and intimacy.
atmosphere: the mood created by the language of a text.
context: the surrounding circumstances.
couplet: two successive lines of poetry, usually rhymed (AA).
ellipsis: dropping words from a sentence which are necessary for grammatical correctness, but not
for meaning, as in “All things [which are] counter, original, spare...”
emotive: tending to arouse emotion
figurative language: language that exceeds the literal meanings of words to achieve a special
meaning or effect. Often in the form of simile, metaphor or personification.
form: the shape, style and structure of a text – as opposed to its content.
free verse: a form of poetry that has no rhyme or regular rhythm
hyperbole: a figure of speech that presents an overstatement or exaggeration for emphasis or
amusement
imagery: there are three separate kinds of imagery:
1. The pictures conjured by a text in a reader’s imagination
2. The appeals made to our senses in a text – they are sight (visual imagery), hearing (auditory
imagery), touch (tactile imagery), smell (olfactory imagery), taste (gustatory imagery) and
sense of movement (kinaesthetic imagery)
3. The figurative language used in a text, that is, the similes, metaphors, personification etc.
irony: the condition created by the difference between what is stated and what is actually the case.
metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is described in terms of another – as when Whitman
characterises the grass as “the beautiful uncut hair of graves”. It states that A equals B – e.g. “Life is
a dream”. Metaphors involve us in the text by making us assess what qualities are being referred to
in the metaphor. It can give the appearance of being more direct, vivid and confident than a simile.
Metaphors are also incredibly word-efficient.
ode: a long lyric poem of elevated style and lofty sentiments.

2
onomatopoeia: a figure of speech in which the sound of the word is an echo of its sense, for
example: whoosh, splat, pop, bang. Onomatopoeia enhances meaning and imagery; it is more
precise in its descriptiveness.
personification: a figure of speech that gives human qualities to objects or ideas; e.g. death is often
personified as a bony looking person. Describing a road as a “lonely road” is a personification as the
road is given the human quality of being “lonely”. Personification makes for vivid and surprising
imagery when it is well executed.
pun: a form of wordplay. A figure of speech that depends upon a similar sound and a disparate
meaning; e.g. Mercutio: “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man.”
repetition: repeating a sound, word, phrase, line or idea. The repetition of words, phrases or lines in
a poem usually provides emphasis on the ideas expressed, raising their importance.
rhyme: the occurrence of similar sounds in lines of verse e.g. odd/God. Rhyme forms a relationship
and connection between two lines or particular words, for example:
Red sky at night, sailors’ delight
Red sky at morning, sailors’ warning.
Two different kinds of rhyme capture two different portents here: one joyful, the other dangerous.
• Odd/God is an exact rhyme. It suggests clarity and when combined with certain rhythms, it
can give the effect of wholeness, completeness or order.
• Have/Love is a slant, half, impartial or imperfect rhyme; it often gives a sense of dissonance
or dislocation. Assonance and consonance are forms of imperfect rhyme.
• A rhyme that concludes a line is called an end rhyme.
• A rhyme that occurs within a line is called an internal rhyme.
• Masculine rhyme is a rhyme on a terminal (or single) syllable e.g. pan/man. The one syllable
rhyme makes emphatic connection between the two things.
• Feminine rhyme (also called a double rhyme) is a rhyme of two syllables e.g.
direction/dejection.
• A three syllable rhyme (e.g. wittily/prettily) is called a triple rhyme. Using a triple rhyme or
greater tends to sound humorous.
rhyme scheme: the pattern of rhyme, usually represented by letters. AABB, for example, would be
two pairs of rhyming couplets.
rhythm: the sense of movement or beat pattern in the syllables of words in a text. It is a
combination of stressed and unstressed syllables. Rhythm creates a feeling of fixity and flux, or
surprise and inevitability.
simile: a figure of speech in which an object is compared to another in one particular aspect
(generally using like or as); e.g. Wilfred Owen writes of soldiers: “Bent double, like old beggars under
sacks.”
stanza: a group of lines in verse.
stress: the way words or parts of a word are emphasised when we speak. For example, we tend to
say require and water.
structure: the organising framework of something.
style: the way a writer uses language. A writer’s style may be classified by one of these methods: 1.
According to the period (e.g. Romantic, Metaphysical) 2. According to the type of language used (e.g.
poetic, didactic, scientific) 3. According to the level of language used (e.g. slang, colloquial, formal).
theme: the central idea of the text.
tone: the way language is used to reflect attitudes to the subject matter and the readers.
couplet: two successive lines of poetry, usually rhymed (AA).
ellipsis: dropping words from a sentence which are necessary for grammatical correctness, but not
for meaning, as in “All things [which are] counter, original, spare...”
emotive: tending to arouse emotion
figurative language: language that exceeds the literal meanings of words to achieve a special
meaning or effect. Often in the form of simile, metaphor or personification.
form: the shape, style and structure of a text – as opposed to its content.
free verse: a form of poetry that has no rhyme or regular rhythm
hyperbole: a figure of speech that presents an overstatement or exaggeration for emphasis or
amusement
imagery: there are three separate kinds of imagery:
1. The pictures conjured by a text in a reader’s imagination
2. The appeals made to our senses in a text – they are sight (visual imagery), hearing (auditory
imagery), touch (tactile imagery), smell (olfactory imagery), taste (gustatory imagery) and
sense of movement (kinaesthetic imagery)
3. The figurative language used in a text, that is, the similes, metaphors, personification etc.
irony: the condition created by the difference between what is stated and what is actually the case.
metaphor: a figure of speech in which one thing is described in terms of another – as when Whitman
characterises the grass as “the beautiful uncut hair of graves”. It states that A equals B – e.g. “Life is
a dream”. Metaphors involve us in the text by making us assess what qualities are being referred to
in the metaphor. It can give the appearance of being more direct, vivid and confident than a simile.
Metaphors are also incredibly word-efficient.
ode: a long lyric poem of elevated style and lofty sentiments.

2
onomatopoeia: a figure of speech in which the sound of the word is an echo of its sense, for
example: whoosh, splat, pop, bang. Onomatopoeia enhances meaning and imagery; it is more
precise in its descriptiveness.
personification: a figure of speech that gives human qualities to objects or ideas; e.g. death is often
personified as a bony looking person. Describing a road as a “lonely road” is a personification as the
road is given the human quality of being “lonely”. Personification makes for vivid and surprising
imagery when it is well executed.
pun: a form of wordplay. A figure of speech that depends upon a similar sound and a disparate
meaning; e.g. Mercutio: “Ask for me tomorrow and you will find me a grave man.”
repetition: repeating a sound, word, phrase, line or idea. The repetition of words, phrases or lines in
a poem usually provides emphasis on the ideas expressed, raising their importance.
rhyme: the occurrence of similar sounds in lines of verse e.g. odd/God. Rhyme forms a relationship
and connection between two lines or particular words, for example:
Red sky at night, sailors’ delight
Red sky at morning, sailors’ warning.
Two different kinds of rhyme capture two different portents here: one joyful, the other dangerous.
• Odd/God is an exact rhyme. It suggests clarity and when combined with certain rhythms, it
can give the effect of wholeness, completeness or order.
• Have/Love is a slant, half, impartial or imperfect rhyme; it often gives a sense of dissonance
or dislocation. Assonance and consonance are forms of imperfect rhyme.
• A rhyme that concludes a line is called an end rhyme.
• A rhyme that occurs within a line is called an internal rhyme.
• Masculine rhyme is a rhyme on a terminal (or single) syllable e.g. pan/man. The one syllable
rhyme makes emphatic connection between the two things.
• Feminine rhyme (also called a double rhyme) is a rhyme of two syllables e.g.
direction/dejection.
• A three syllable rhyme (e.g. wittily/prettily) is called a triple rhyme. Using a triple rhyme or
greater tends to sound humorous.
rhyme scheme: the pattern of rhyme, usually represented by letters. AABB, for example, would be
two pairs of rhyming couplets.
rhythm: the sense of movement or beat pattern in the syllables of words in a text. It is a
combination of stressed and unstressed syllables. Rhythm creates a feeling of fixity and flux, or
surprise and inevitability.
simile: a figure of speech in which an object is compared to another in one particular aspect
(generally using like or as); e.g. Wilfred Owen writes of soldiers: “Bent double, like old beggars under
sacks.”
stanza: a group of lines in verse.
stress: the way words or parts of a word are emphasised when we speak. For example, we tend to
say require and water.
structure: the organising framework of something.
style: the way a writer uses language. A writer’s style may be classified by one of these methods: 1.
According to the period (e.g. Romantic, Metaphysical) 2. According to the type of language used (e.g.
poetic, didactic, scientific) 3. According to the level of language used (e.g. slang, colloquial, formal).
theme: the central idea of the text.
tone: the way language is used to reflect attitudes to the subject matter and the readers.