Terms
1 Alliteration
The repetition of an initial letter. It is sometimes used to convey a sense of sadness, happiness, softness, anger and despair according to soft or harsh sounds of the initial letter.
“Round and round the rugged rocks the ragged rascal ran”
The harshness of the repeated r sound echoes the lawlessness of the man concerned.
Obviously I am exaggerating in this case, but in the example of:
“weight and waterfall of ceaseless time” – you can see how the writer uses alliteration to emphasise the heaviness of the metaphor
2 Simile
An image that uses an indirect comparison in order to make us see the writer’s ideas more clearly:
“ Children swarmed around her like wasps ”
“ She walked as slowly as a pensioner ”
THE WORDS WHICH SHOW IT’S A SIMILE “ LIKE ” OR “ AS ”
When we’re commenting on the effectiveness of a simile, we need to think about how similar the two things are:
WASPS: CHILDREN
What on earth do they have in common – why does the comparison work?
Irritating, noisy want to swat them away, difficult to get away from Etc.
WHAT IS THE WRITER TRYING TO SAY
3 Metaphor
A direct comparison - saying one thing is another.
It also paints a vivid visual picture in your head and conveys the writer’s attitude (positive or negative) about the thing they are describing:
“You are my sunshine” (+)
“Don’t make a pig out of yourself” (-)
When you are analyzing metaphors, think of the strategies above
Ask yourself what you think the writer is trying to say by making this comparison
Why compare THESE two things? What are the connotations of this comparison???
4 Onomatopoeia
A word that sounds like the word it is describing
e.g. buzz, splash, pop, zap, hum, and sizzle.
Writers use this in order to make us feel a clearer sense of the place they’re describing – so we can imagine ourselves there to share the experience.
If we are described the gentle buzzing of a distant lawnmower on a lazy summer day, the use of onomatopoeia helps us to “hear” the sound and conjure up the scene more successfully.
5 Rhythm
SPELL IT CORRECTLY!!!!!!!
A steady beat which can recur as a poem progresses. Writers use it to echo the theme of the poem making it slow, miserable, sad, depressing, fast, exciting, funny, exhilarating etc.
Action packed poems usually have a fast moving rhythm for example ; whereas depressing poems about death or lost love would usually have a slower, more melancholy rhythm
6 Rhyme
When two words end in a similar way or fashion – home/Rome, away/today. Often used to add a funny dimension to a poem. Not commonly used in sad or serious poetry.Think about whether it is used in a rhyme scheme or whether there are only a few lines which rhyme
This of course can drastically alter the effect…
7 Repetition
Writer’s ALMOST NEVER repeat words accidentally
Therefore any case of words being repeated is significant as it shows that writer’s wish to emphasize a certain mood, feeling or idea. E.g. Repeating “death” three times in a line of poetry might give it a depressing mood…
8 Enjambment
This is used by poets, instead of writing End Stopped lines (where each line is a full sentence) – this can be remembered as a leg of words hanging down onto the line below.
It has the effect of making us pause at a different point, perhaps to emphasize a point or idea more clearly.
9 Ellipsis
(…) The three-dot thing.
Writers use it to: Make us pause
Suggest time has passed
Show an idea is unfinished
Show a quote is incomplete
Show ideas have trailed off
Say something unspoken…(etc)
10 Irony
Writers use irony to draw our attention to the strangeness or inappropriacy
of a situation. For example. In “Macbeth” king Duncan ironically comments on how safe and secure he feels in Macbeth’s castle – just as Macbeth is plotting to slaughter him brutally.
Sometimes writers use irony to suggest an opposite meaning to the one being professed:
“Nice dress” – normally a compliment but it could convey quite the opposite opinion…
11 Personification
It’s a special kind of metaphor. It gives an inanimate object (table, tree, spade) the qualities of a living thing:
“ The clock ticked menacingly’
“The wind howled in fury”
Personification is used so that writers can achieve a welcoming, threatening, scary or friendly atmosphere.
It literally BRINGS THINGS TO LIFE.
12 Assonance
“ The shine of bright light” - A
“ The drone of a lonely soul” - B
Assonance is the opposite of Alliteration. Instead of similar sounds being at the start, they occur in the middle of words. The words DON’T HAVE TO RHYME!!!
13 Assonance
It’s the vowel sound that matters.
Why do writers use this?
- Like alliteration they are trying to emphasize harshness, gentleness,anger, sorrow or even pain.
A – The repeated use of “i” – assonance is used n order to convey a sense of the piercing light through the SHARPNESS of the SOUND.
B – The long repeated ‘O” – assonance is used to echo the sadness of the line. The long mournful vowel conveys an atmosphere of misery and depression.
14 Extended Metaphor
Headmasters (i) and politicians are fond of this technique. It’s when they take one idea [like playing sport!] and use it to tie several ideas/images together:
“ When you step on the pitch, a lot depends on your team. It’s vital to decide what your goals are and how to attack convincingly. The decision is yours and the ball’s in your court. You need to decide what tactics to use to win.”
This may sound like a locker room pep talk from a determined coach -
but it could equally be an extended metaphor being used by a manager to push them into meeting their sales targets
15 Tone
Tone does not relate to what is said; it describes how it is said.
E.g. “Where have you been?” can mean different things according to how exactly it was
said.
The tone can be indicated in various ways:
2 Italics can indicate pain, anger or sarcasm.
3 BOLD type can indicate aggression or anger.
4 Ellipsis can indicate being lost for words.
5 Sometimes we just have to work out tone for ourselves – without any visual clues…
16 Mood
Writers try to create a certain mood through their choice of language and imagery. Poems therefore can convey a depressing mood, a lonely mood, a sad mood or an anxious mood etc
17 juxtaposition
A term used to describe the situation which arises when two things which are totally opposite/contrasting are placed in close proximity with each other.
Why?
Think of my arm: Miss Scott’s arm placed side by side with mine the result would be that hers would look browner; and mine would look even whiter.
Writers do this with characters: A good character when juxtaposed with a nasty one looks even better!
Or with images: An evil image looks more threatening when placed next to a pure or saintly image.
The contrast has the effect of bringing certain qualities that the writer wants us to notice more clearly in focus.
18 Connotations of
We use this phrase when we are describing what ideas or pictures a word puts into our head.
E.g. White has connotations of innocence, purity and perfection.
Golden has connotations of desirability, value and beauty.
CONNOTATIONS ARE WHAT YOU ASSOCIATE AN IMAGE WITH IN YOUR OWN MIND.
19 Depicts
This is a short way of saying,
“ puts a picture of it in your mind”
E.g. this IMAGE clearly depicts the man’s isolation and vulnerability.
20 Conveys
“Conveys” means bring it across to you.
E.g. this image conveys a vivid picture of society and its selfish attitude. The harsh sound of …
I think that here the writer is attempting to use his word choice to convey a sense of…
The use of personification is used here to convey a clear sense of the writer’s…
The poet is using repetition here to convey her growing sense of…
21 Implies
The writer is always the one who implies, just like the word sells – you always imply to someone.
E.g. this simile implies to me that the woman is angry.
E.g. II. Here, I feel, the writer is implying that Eddy is lying.
WHAT IS IMPLIED MEANS WHAT THE WRITER IS TRYING TO SAY BETWEEN THE LINES.
22 Infers
This word is the opposite, this word isn’t about the writer or poet – it’s about you.
This word is used to show what you can extrapolate from a poem.
Just like you buy from a shop, you infer from a poem.
E.g. We can infer From the poet’s use of the word “Stormed” that Jimmy is very upset.