Additional terms/devices
Sophomore English Honors
allusion - a reference to something real or fictitious outside of the literature.
apostrophe – a figure of speech in which an absent or a dead person, an abstract
quality, or something non-human is addressed directly.
blank verse – verse written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. (Shakespeare uses this in
Othello).
cacophony- harsh, unpleasant sounds. (ex. “gloved hands twisting knobs”)
conceit – a kind of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different
things. (a conceit may be a brief metaphor, but it usually provides the framework for
an entire poem.)
diction – a writer’s choice of words, particularly for clarity, effectiveness and precision.
dramatic monologue – a kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one
or more listeners whose replies are not given in the poem.
elegy – a poem of mourning, usually over the death of an individual.
epiphany – a moment of illumination, usually occurring at or near the end of a work.
euphony – beautiful, pleasant sounds. (ex. “slow and quiet he sank”)
free verse – verse that has either no metrical pattern or an irregular pattern.
hyperbole – a figure of speech using exaggeration, or overstatement, for special effect.
implicit metaphor - a special kind of metaphor is which one of the terms is not stated
but suggested by the context. “The children flocked to the ice cream stand” is an
example of an implicit metaphor in which the children are indirectly compared to sheep
by the word flocked.
lyric poem - often musical in sound, has a single speaker and expresses a deeply felt
thought or emotion. The speaker does not always have a specific audience; that is, the
speaker seems to be addressing himself or herself. ( ex. “Ode to a Nightingale” )
metaphor – a figure of speech that makes a comparison between two things that are
basically dissimilar. “Life is a dream” or “Life is a hard road”
meter – the generally regular pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry.
mood- the general feeling or atmosphere created in a poem.
onomatopoeia – use of words that sound like what they mean. (Ex. “Humming and
buzzing”)
oxymoron – using two contradictory words to describe the same object. (ex “eloquent
silence”)
paradox – a statement that seems obviously false that is somehow true. ( “Cowards die
many times before their deaths.” )
personification – a figure of speech in which something non-human is given human
qualities.
structure - the poet’s arrangement or overall design of a work In poetry, structure
refers to the way the words and lines are arranged to produce a particular effect.
tone – the attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, or audience.
Tone is found in every kind of writing. It is created through the choice of words and
details.