What is ‘Figurative Language’:
Words that do not depart from its original defined meaning, which it may
referring some deeper meaning that can enforce the atmosphere of the poem.
Why is it used:
To make language more descriptive, imaginative, and vivid.
Techniques of figurative language:
 Metaphor: A technique that implicitly compares two irrelevant things.
 Simile: A technique that directly compares two unlike things using like “like”,
“as”.
 Personification: A technique that is comparing a non-living thing with a
movement or action of a living thing. (Giving human qualities to objects)
 Hyperbole: Exaggerating a point, mainly used to emphasis.
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Euphemism： A technique that uses soft words to describe sth. Hard or
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hard to say. Etc. We won’t say “I want to urinate.”, but “I want to got to the
bathroom, or my natural is calling.”
Synecdoche
Pun: A play on words
Oxymoron: When contrasting ideas or objects being put together.
Anaphora: Repetition of a word/phrase at the beginning on consecutive
sentences.
Allusion: Relate content to another famous work of literature or idea.
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Stanza: a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a
verse
Type of stanzas:
 2 lines: Couplet
 3 lines: Tercet
 4 lines: Quatrain
 5 lines: Cinquain
 6 lines: Sestet
 7 lines: Septet
 8 lines: Octave
Function of stanza：
-The stanza structure helps convey the argument of the speaker
-Help organize the content of the poem, providing a clear structure that can
guide the reader towards a clearer view
-Control the pacing of the poem, affecting how quickly or slowly a poem is
read.
-Reinforce the themes of the poem.
-Create visual patterns.
-Break in stanzas indicate a change in tone, idea or focus; use as a pause to
for thoughts or to create a brief silence.
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-When the poetry has more than one stanza, The first stanza always
introduces the argument the speaker is making.
Line structure:
Where does the line break or pause?
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They can run over many lines and even end mid-line, and a new
sentence can begin in the same line.
Techniques of stopping a line:
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End-Stopped: For the end of a line, it will be denoted by a comma,
period, semicolon or other punctuation mark.
Enjambment: Continuation of a sentence or clause over a line-break,
runs on from one line to the next.
Caesura: A strong pause or stop within a line. Will usually occur in the
middle of a line if poetry, but also can occur towards the beginning of or
the end of line. For these types of caesurae are called medial, initial
and terminal respectively.
What is the first/last word of the line?
The first and the last word of the poem are very important. The last word of
the poem often stays in the reader’s mind longer therefore it is often
emphasized. Consequently, some poets will add rhymes to the last word to
emphasis and create the atmosphere.
Rhyme-rhyme is the correspondence of sounds between different word at the
ending words. Example: weary. Dreary
Alliteration: Example: still and stiff
Consonance-the repetition of consonant sounds anywhere within words.
Assonance-the repetition of vowel sounds.
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Repetition: recurring use of a sound, a word, a phrase or a line
Example: somewhere (appearing in a stanza multiple times); repetition of rain
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