Technical Terms (reposted)

Alliteration:the repetition of the same consonant sound in two or more word.

Allusion:A reference to another event, place, person, or piece of literature.

Ambiguity:Words or phrases in which the meaning is unclear or which has more than one possible interpretation.

Archaic:old-fashioned language; used to describe words which are seldom used any more.

Assonance:The repetition of similar vowel sounds.

Blank Verse:Unrhymed poetry in iambic pentameter.

Cliche:A phrase, idea or image that has been used so much that it has lost its original meaning and significance.

Climax:Building up to a high point or important moment.

Colloquial:Ordinary, everyday speech.

Connotation:The implication or suggestion attached to a word or phrase.

Couplet:Two consecutive lines of verse that rhyme.

Dialect: a way of speaking in certain areas of the country.

Enjambement:A line of verse that flows on to the next line without pause.

Euphemism: A softer, less harsh way of expressing something unpleasant.

Extended Image: A comparison that is repeated in more than one place in a poem or is continued throughout the writing.

Feminine Rhyme: Rhyme of more than one syllable (eg. constitution)

Figurative Language: Language which is symbolic or metaphorical; not meant to be taken literally, such as similes, metaphors and personification.

Hyperbole: elaborate exaggeration.

Imagery: The use of words to create pictures or images for the reader.

Infinitive: "To" plus a verb form, such as "to jump" or "to swim".Internal Rhyme: Rhyming words within a line rather than at the end of lines.

Inversion: Word order which places the verb before the subject or otherwise "inverts" the usual structure of a sentence with which we are familiar - subject, verb, object - and thereby puts emphasis on the word which is out of order.

Irony: Saying one thing while meaning another: a word or phrase has a surface meaning but the opposite, often contradictory, meaning is implied.

Jargon: Language which is particular to a particular profession or occupation.Juxtaposition: Placing togther two items which are not usually placed together to create a striking combination.

Masculine Rhyme: Rhyme of one syllable.

Metaphor: A comparison of two things to make a description more vivid. the metaphor states that one thing is the other; whereas, a simile would say that it is "like" or "as" the other object.

Metre: Regular use of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.

Monosyllabic: Single syllable.

Mood: THe overall emotional feeling or atmosphere communicated by a piece of writing.

Octave: The first eight lines of a Petrarchal sonnet.

Onomatopoeia: The use of words whos sound copies the sound of the thing they describe.

Oxymoron: A figure of speech which joins together words of opposite meanings.

Paradox: A puzzle; a statement that appears contradictory, but when it is considered more closely it is seen to be true.

Parallel Sentence Structure: Two sentences follow the same structure of syntax or pattern. usually used to show either a contrast in the ideas of the two sentences or a similarity. (Also known as a balanced sentence or "antithesis")

Parenthetical: from paraenthesis: a word or phrase which gives extra information and is not strictly speaking necessary for the sense. These phrases are placed within brackets or commas.

Parody: A work that is written in imitation of another work, usually written to make fun of the original work.

Pejorative: A negative suggestion or implication of a word.

Pentameter: A line of verse containing five feet.

Persona: The "person" in the poem - not necessarily the poet; it is the perspective or point of view from which the poem is written.

Personification: Giving human qualities to an inanimate object. A metaphor in which an inanimate object is likened to a person.

Polysyllabic: Made up of more than one syllable.Polysyndetic: The joining of words in a list with "and" between each of the items. Usually this is used to emphasise or draw attention to some feature of the list.

Pun: a play o words: two words that have similar sounds but different meanings.

Quatrain: A stanza of four lines which rhyme.

Refrain: Repetition throughout a poem of a phrase, line or verse.

Rhetorical Question: A question which does not require an answer because the answer is obvious or because it is implied in the question.

Rhyme: Corresponding sounds in words, usually at the end of lines.

Rhyme Scheme: The pattern of rhyme in a poem.Sarcasm: Usually a very cruel or cutting remark.

Satire: The exposing of human failings by ridiculing them.

Sestet: The last six lines of a Petrarchan sonnet.

Sibilants: Words which begin with "s" or soft "c", like "soft shoes".

Simile: A comparison of one thing to another in order to make a description more vivid. Similes use the words "like" or "as".

Simple Sentence: A sentence which has one clause with a subject and verb.

Sonnet: A fourteen line poem. A petrarchan sonnet has an octave and a sestet which is often a puzzle followed by an "answer" or a resolution. A Shakespearean sonnet is three quatrains plus a couplet. The quatrains are often related and an idea is developed throughout the quatrains reaching a climax or conclusion in the final couplet.

Stanza: The blocks of lines into which a poem is divided.

Stream of Conciousness: A technique in which the writer writes down thoughts and emotions as they come into mind without seeming to bother about an order or structure.

Structure: The way that a piece of writing is put togther.

Style: The individual way in which a writer uses language to express ideas.Symbol: A physical object representative of something else.

Syntax: The way in which sentences are constructed.

Theme: the central idea or ideas that are explored in a piece of literature.

Tone: The author's voice or overall impression created in the poem. it is created in a combination of ways, such as word choice, sentece structure, rhythm, rhyme.

Transferred Epithet: An adjective which is usually applied to a person is applied to an object to draw attention to the quality.

Verse: A unit of Poetry

Villanelle: A verse form which is complex and artificial. It has a very tight rhyme scheme: aba aba aba aba aba abaa. Certain lines are repeated entirely: line 1 is repeated in lines 6, 12, 18; line 3 is repeated in lines 9,15 and 19.