Preposition
A word category which explains where something is (on, under, in) etc
polyptoton
repetition of words derived from the same root (such as “blood” and “bleed”)
anadiplosis
a rhetorical device that involves repeating the last word or phrase of one clause or sentence at the beginning of the next
diacope
where a word or phrase is repeated with a small number of intervening words
epizeuxis
repeating a word or phrase in immediate succession
Litotes
An understatement (opposite to hyperbole)
Sonnet
– 14 lines.
- Abab cdcd efef gg rhyme scheme.
- Iambic pentametre rhythm (10 syllable per line)
- Often about love and romance.
Elegy
a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.
Ballade
A poem consisting of three stanzas, all ending with the same line (refrain).
The first three stanzas commonly have eight or ten lines each and the same rhyme scheme
Quatrain
4 line stanza
Sestet
6 line stanza
Octave
8 line stanza
Cinquain
5 line stanza
Refrain
A phrase, line, or group of lines that is repeated throughout a poem, usually after
every stanza – kind of like the chorus of a song
Iambic pentameter
5 pairs of ‘de dum’ beats in a line of poetry (equalling 10 syllables
in total)
Blank verse
A poem written in iambic pentameter (10 syllables per line) but doesn’t
rhyme
Paronomasia
play on words
pun
metonymy
Metonymy is a type of figurative language in which an object or concept is referred to not by its own name, but instead by the name of something closely associated with it.
dysphemism
opposite of euphamism
substitution of a neutral, polite, or positive phrase with a harsher, derogatory, or offensive one
Zeugma
a figure of speech in which a word applies to two others in different senses (e.g. John and his driving licence expired last week ).