LITERARY TECHNIQUES
Alliteration
Also called head rhyme or initial rhyme, the repetition of the initial sounds (usually consonants) of stressed syllables in neighboring words or at short intervals as in ‘wild and woolly’
Allusion
An implied or indirect reference to something assumed to be knows, such as a historical event, a well-known quotation from literature
Anaphora
The repeated use of a word or phrase at the start of successive phrases or sentences for effect
Anthropomorphism
The act of attributing human qualities to a non- human figure. A tree with the characteristics of a wise old man is an example of anthropomorphism
Assonance
The relatively close juxtaposition of the same or similar vowel sounds, but with different end consonants in a line or passage, thus a vowel rhyme: ‘sounds resound around icy water underground’
Connotation
The suggestions of meanings by a word beyond what it explicitly denotes or describes. The word, ‘home’ for example means the place where one lives, but by connotation also suggests security, family, love and comfort.
Dissonance
A mingling or union of harsh, inharmonious sounds, often deliberately used for effect.
‘ The clinching interlocking claws, a living fierce, gyrating wheel
Euphemism
The substitution of an agreeable or inoffensive expression to replace one that might offend or suggest something unpleasant, for example ‘he is at rest’ is a euphemism for ‘he is dead’.
Extended metaphor
A metaphor which is drawn-out beyond the usual word or phrase to extend throughout a stanza or an entire poem, usually by using multiple comparisons between the unlike objects or ideas.
Hyperbole
A deliberate overstatement, e.g. ‘I’d give my right arm for a piece of pizza.’ Not intended to be taken literally, it is used to emphasize the truth of a statement.
Imagery, image
The elements in a poem used to evoke mental images not only of the visual sense, but of sensation and emotion as well. The different senses evoked by imagery can be specified in the following ways:
Olfactory imagery- smell
Tactile imagery- touch
Visual imagery- sight
Auditory- hearing
Gustatory- taste
Juxtaposition
The technique of placing unexpected combinations of words or ideas side by side
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which a word or phrase literally denoting one object or idea is applied to another, thereby suggesting a likeness or analogy between them as: ‘the leaves of life keep falling one by one.’
Meter
A measure of rhythmic quantity; the organized succession of groups of syllables at regular intervals in a line of poetry, according to definite metrical patterns.
Motif
A recurring thematic element, dominant theme or central idea.
Paradox
A statement which contains