Poetry
Key Terms Defined
Stanza
l  Two
or more lines of poetry that together
form one of the divisions of a poem.
l  It’s like a paragraph but in a poem we
call them stanzas
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.
Couplet
l  In
a poem, a pair of lines that are the
same length and (usually) rhyme and
form a complete thought.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
Imagery
l  The
use of pictures, figures of speech
and description to evoke ideas, feelings,
objects, actions, states of mind etc
l  You need to explain the picture you
imagine to the examiner
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
In this image I can imagine loads of yellow daffodils looking like a crowd of people.
Personification
l  Giving
something humanlike qualities
l  Creates a descriptive image
The daffodils danced in the breeze
Alliteration
l  Repetition
of the same consonant
sounds at any place but often at the
beginning of words
l  Connects words/produces pleasing
effect to the ear
She sells seashells by the seashore
Assonance
l  The
repetition or pattern of (the same)
vowel sounds
l  Impacts the tone e.g. broad vowels
create a somber tone
Mosses supposes his toeses are roses
The rain in Spain lands mainly on the plane
Onomatopoeia
l  A
figure of speech in which words are
used to imitate sounds.
l  Appeals to our senses. Adds fun or
playfulness
l 
Buzz, hiss, clippety-clop, splat, thump, tick-tock
l 
“The moan of doves in immemorial elms, And murmuring of innumerable bees” Tennyson’s
Come Down, O Maid
Hyperbole
l  A
figure of speech in which deliberate
exaggeration is used for emphasis.
Many everyday expressions are
examples of hyperbole
l 
l 
l 
Tonnes of money,
waiting for ages,
a flood of tears
Metaphor
l  A
figure of speech in which two
things are compared, usually by
saying one thing is another
l  Shows likeness between two things
often considered not to be similar
The worlds a stage, he was a lion in battle, drowning in debt, a sea of troubles
Rhyme
l  The
occurrence of the same or similar
sounds at the end of two or more words.
I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils
Rhyme Scheme
l  The
pattern that is made by the rhyme
within each stanza or verse.
Simile
l  A
figure of speech in which two things
are compared using the word ‘like’ or
‘as’ or ‘than’.
Creates a memorable or striking image
What happens to a dream deferred?
Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?
‘Harlem’ by Langston Hughes