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Questions and Answers
Which type of imagery is used in the phrase 'The bright blue pencil case'?
Which type of imagery is used in the phrase 'The smell of smoke filled the air, dense and suffocating'?
What is kinaesthetic imagery used to capture?
What is the purpose of gustatory imagery?
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Which type of imagery is used in the phrase 'The polished wooden surface felt smooth to the touch'?
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What is the primary function of figurative language in literature?
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Which type of figurative language uses 'like,' 'as,' or 'than'?
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What is personification?
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What is the characteristic of a conceit?
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What is the primary effect of anaphora in poetry?
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What is the purpose of epistrophe in poetry?
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What is anadiplosis?
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What is the effect of epistrophe on the rhythm of poetry?
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What is the main difference between anaphora and epistrophe?
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Which of the following sounds is described as 'unpleasant in terms of sound, may be harsh, or grating'?
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Which sound effect involves the repetition of vowel sounds?
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What type of sound effect involves the repetition of 's' sounds?
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What occurs when a word imitates the sound it is describing?
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What is the term for the repetition of the same sounds at the start of several words?
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What is the purpose of using a caesura in a poem?
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What is iambic meter?
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What is the purpose of juxtaposition in literature?
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What is the purpose of metonymy in literature?
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What is a stanza with 3 lines called?
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How many lines are in a stanza called a quatrain?
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Study Notes
Poetic Techniques: Imagery
- Imagery is a literary device used to create vivid sensory experiences for the reader, allowing them to imagine a scene in greater detail.
- It invites the reader into the writer's world, making the scene more tangible and immersive.
Effects of Imagery
- Enables the reader to better visualize and imagine the scene through the senses.
- Provides a more complete understanding of the setting or scene as intended by the poet.
Types of Imagery
Visual Imagery
- Uses language to conjure up an image of what something looks like.
- Example: "The bright blue pencil case."
Auditory Imagery
- Uses language to conjure up an image of what something sounds like.
- Example: "The engine hissed and rattled."
Tactile Imagery
- Uses language to conjure up an image of what something feels like.
- Example: "The polished wooden surface felt smooth to the touch."
Gustatory Imagery
- Uses language to conjure up an image of what something tastes like.
- Example: "The metallic tang of blood oozed from his split-lip."
Olfactory Imagery
- Uses language to conjure up an image of what something smells like.
- Example: "The smell of smoke filled the air, dense and suffocating."
Kinaesthetic Imagery
- Captures the sensation of movement.
- Example: "The sea rushed in, brushing against my bare feet."
Organic Imagery
- Relates to the personal experiences of a character's body, including emotions and physical sensations.
- Examples:
- "My stomach twisted at the thought."
- "My parched mouth felt like sandpaper."
Figurative Language
- Figurative language is a way of comparing things to make unfamiliar ideas more relatable and abstract concepts more tangible.
Techniques of Figurative Language
- Metaphor: A direct comparison without using "like," "as," or "than." • Examples: "You're a star!", "He's a diamond."
- Simile: A comparison that uses "like," "as," or "than" to aid understanding. • Example: "Love set you going like a fat gold watch" - Sylvia Plath
- Personification: Attributing human characteristics to inanimate objects. • Example: "The chair groaned under the weight of the man."
- Conceit: A complex comparison between two seemingly unrelated things. • Example: "I'm no more your mother than the cloud that distills a mirror to reflect its own slow effacement at the wind's hand" - 'Morning Song' by Sylvia Plath • Conceits can be satisfying to unpack and understand.
Repetition in Poetry
- Repetition is a literary device where the writer uses the same words, images, or phrases repeatedly, often in succession.
Types of Repetition
Anaphora
- Definition: Repeating the same word to begin several sentences.
- Effect: Draws attention to an important theme, concept, or image, and emphasizes an idea at the start of each phrase.
- Example: "Love is kind. Love is simple. Love is heartbreak, unfelt."
Anadiplosis
- Definition: Repeating a word or phrase at the end of one clause and immediately at the start of the next.
- Effect: A powerful rhetorical device that emphasizes the key idea and has a stirring, rousing effect.
- Examples:
- "She gave him her heart; her heart that would be broken."
- "Don’t be afraid of fear, fear the idea of not even trying."
Epistrophe
- Definition: Repeating words at the end of successive sentences.
- Effect: Adds emphasis to certain words and creates a strong rhythm.
- Example: "My eyes covered you. My heart went out to you." (from "A Cry for Art O'Leary" by Brendan Kennelly)
Sound Effects in Poetry
- Sound effects in poetry are dependent on context and can have different effects in different poems.
- The same sound effect can seem foreboding or ominous in a darker poem, but joyous or happy in a poem with a happy mood.
Techniques of Sound Effects
-
Alliteration: The repetition of the same sounds at the start of several words.
- Examples: Lovely London, Smart Seamus, Dashing Donnacha
-
Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds, can create a hollow or sad sound, but also bright and joyous sounds in different contexts.
- Examples: Deep green vale (optimistic and joyous), the screech of the beech tree keeling over (ominous), Let's meet and greet them, shall we?
-
Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds, rather than vowels.
- Example: The broad blade of the knife slid through the ground
-
Sibilance: The repetition of 's' sounds.
- Example: The saucy servants smiled to themselves
-
Onomatopoeia: A word that imitates the sound it is describing, also an example of auditory imagery.
- Examples: Bang, Zip, Crash, Slap, Thump, Thud
Punctuation in Poetry
- Caesura: a complete stop in the middle of a line of poetry, disrupting the rhythm and pace.
- Can occur with full stops, exclamation marks, or question marks.
- Examples: "Don't stop. Or at least not now." or "I can! I cried in delight."
Enjambment
- When the writer does not include any punctuation at the end of a line of poetry.
- Effect: speeds up the pace of the poem.
- Can be used to convey emotions such as sadness or excitement.
- Notated with a virgule (/) when discussing the technique.
Ellipsis
- The purposeful omission of words, shown through the use of three evenly spaced dots ...
- Can indicate a pause, adding to the tension or suspense of a piece.
- Example: "I knew it was true... I knew I was right."
Rhyme and Rhythm
- Rhyme: rhyming words complement each other through similar sounds.
- Rhythm: the beat in poetry, created through various structures such as:
- Iambic meter: an iamb is a pair of syllables, with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed (baBOOM).
- Examples: iambic pentameter, iambic tetrameter.
- Trochaic meter: a trochee is a pair of syllables, with the first syllable stressed and the second syllable unstressed (BAboom).
- Examples: trochaic pentameter, trochaic tetrameter.
- Iambic meter: an iamb is a pair of syllables, with the first syllable unstressed and the second syllable stressed (baBOOM).
Literary Devices
- Juxtaposition: placing two opposites subjects or ideas side-by-side to create contrast.
- Effect: heightens one sensation or feeling by placing it beside its opposite.
- Example: "The sad clown was slumped among the joyous, chattering children."
- Synaesthesia: blurring the senses, unexpectedly describing something in terms we would not expect.
- Effect: creates a sense of discomfort or unease, captures characteristics in a more original manner.
- Examples: "That green dress is really loud." or "The blue, uncertain, stumbling buzz" (Emily Dickinson).
- Synecdoche: using a physical part of an object to represent the whole object.
- Effect: draws attention to a particular part, adds emphasis and imagery.
- Example: "I need more hands in the kitchen."
- Metonymy: substituting one concept or thing with an attribute or term that is closely related.
- Effect: forms associations of a particular object or topic, adds creativity to writing.
- Example: "All of Hollywood was on the red carpet."
Line Lengths
- Stanzas with a certain number of lines have specific names:
- Couplet: 2 lines
- Tercet: 3 lines
- Quatrain: 4 lines
- Quintain or Quintet: 5 lines
- Sestet: 6 lines
- Septet: 7 lines
- Octet: 8 lines
Line Lengths in Poetry
- A couplet is a stanza with 2 lines.
- A tercet is a stanza with 3 lines.
- A quatrain is a stanza with 4 lines.
- A quintain, also known as a quintet, is a stanza with 5 lines.
- A sestet is a stanza with 6 lines.
- A septet is a stanza with 7 lines.
- An octet is a stanza with 8 lines.
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Description
To prepare for the unseen poetry and studied poetry questions in paper two, it is important that you know your poetic techniques in order to effectively analyse a poem. Test your knowledge on various poetic techniques including imagery, figurative language, repetition, sound effects, punctuation and other techniques.
