Paper 1 POETRY: Features to Track

Modal verbs

'Might', 'Will', 'May' - different degrees of certainty

Simple diction

(often monosyllabic) Childish, uncomplicated, emotional - especially angry

Complex diction

(often polysyllabic, Latinate) Educated, expertise, complex, rational, calm

Rhyme

Can suggest pretty much anything - absence may suggest freedom, disorder

Odd Rhyme

Full rhyme would be too obtrusive and formal here

alliteration

A group of words that starts with the same letters Figurative language and figures of speech are used to evoke emotion and to imply meanings in writing by means of making comparisons and allusions to familiar objects and ideas that can help a reader to relate to what the author is trying to say. Alliteration is a figure of speech that is related to onomatopoeia in that it involves the sense of sound. For an author, representing sounds with words can be quite difficult to do effectively. Alliteration refers to a group of words that start with the same consonant sound. An example of alliteration is "Charlie carefully counted coins," where the "C" sound is repeated throughout the phrase. Not only do alliterative words portray sounds and engage a person's auditory senses, but they can also be used to emphasize groups or words and to provide moods and connotations to provide greater insight into an author's words.

Repetition

A key idea, confusion, simplicity, emphasis Imagery Similes, metaphors, onomatopoeia etc are often used to shape meaning

Caesura (, ... or -)

A pause, normally in the middle of the line, to emphasise a key idea, create certainty or suggest confusion

Persona

A persona, from the Latin for mask, is a character taken on by a poet to speak in a first-person poem. E.G. Anthony Thwaite's 'Monologue in the Valley of the Kings' uses the word 'I' but it refers, not to the poet, but to the Pharaoh, Thwaite's persona in this poem. Speaker Speaker - the narrative voice in a poem (such as a sonnet, ode, or lyric) that speaks of his or her. situation or feelings. Article Articles are words used before nouns to make it clear exactly what the noun refers to. English has two types of articles: definite and indefinite.

Tricolon

A rhetorical term for a series of three parallel words, phrases, or clauses. E.G. "He must be handsome, ruthless, and stupid."

Short sentences

Anger, violence, factual, importance, finality, high speed, panic, sadness

assonance

Assonance takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds. For instance, "Men sell the wedding bells." The same vowel sound of the short vowel "-e-" repeats itself in almost all the words excluding the definite article. The words do share the same vowel sounds but start with different consonant sounds unlike alliteration that involves repetition of the same consonant sounds. Below are a few assonance examples that are more common:

Sibilance normally an 's'

BUT - all soft sounds CAN be sibilant. They are: s with sh, and ch, th including three others such as z, x, f and softer c. Soothing, gentle, sinister, threatening, hissing

Breakdown of R&R

Change or breakdown in rhyme & rhythm - an important change, disruption

Olfactory Imagery

Concerning aromas, smell, odors, scents, or the sense of smell.

Tactile Imagery

Concerning physical touches, textures or the sense of touch.

consonance

Consonance refers to repetitive sounds produced by consonants within a sentence or phrase. This repetition often takes place in quick succession such as in pitter, patter. It is classified as a literary term used in both poetry as well as prose. For instance, the words chuckle, fickle, and kick are consonant with one and other due to the existence of common interior consonant sounds (/ck/). The literary device of consonance is inherently different from assonance which involves the repetition of similar vowel sounds within a word, sentence, or phrase. Another distinction to be appreciated is that of between consonance and rhyme. In the case of rhyme, consonant sounds can be present at the beginning, middle, or end of several successive words, rather than merely at the ends of words. Further, the device of consonance needs to be distinguished from alliteration. In contrast to alliteration, consonance involves repetition of consonant sounds only.

Personal Pronouns

Creates a sense of intimacy Creates a sense of isolation that the speaker feels

End Stopping

Definite ending, imposition of structure

Narrative perspective

Does the third person narrator side more with one character than another

Some rhyme: Blanket statement

Free verse but subtle irregular rhyme pattern throughout. The poet is seeking the effect of colloquial realism-an informal speaking voice so full and obvious rhyme would be obtrusive. Occasional rhyme used for emphasis- yet its main role is to thread quietly through the poem. The device brings unity to the overall structure + effect. It is a use of rhyme that draws little attention to itself, it takes a couple of readings to notice it.

Rhythm

Hard to spot - but repeated rhythm may suggest repetition, cycles, monotony

Present tense

Immediate, real, lively, now

Anaphora

In writing or speech, the deliberate repetition of the first part of the sentence in order to achieve an artistic effect. "Every day, every night, in every way"

Long sentences

Lots of things, complex thoughts, time to develop ideas

Third person

Objective, reliable, certain, factual, omniscient, distanced, cold, isolated.

Foregrounding

Often the most important things are brought to the front of a sentence / line

Triads

Persuasive, lots of things

Kinesthetic Imagery

Pertains to movements or the sense of bodily motion

Gustatory Imagery

Pertains to tastes, flavors, palates or the sense of taste.

Blank Verse

Raises the poem above the ordinary without sounding artificial Less formal - allows Poet to convey low key casual intimate feeling central to poets message Rhythm of natural speech Used for introspective moments

Past tense

Recollection, unchangeable

Auditory Imagery

Relating to sounds, noises, music, sense of hearing or choosing words with a sound that imitates real sounds in the form of onomatopoeia. Words such as "bang!" "achoo!" "cacaw!" "buzz!" all work to describe sounds that most people are familiar with. Onomatopoeia is used mostly in poetry, but has its function in prose.

Visual Imagery

Relating to visual scenes, graphics, pictures, or the sense of sight.

Enjambment

Richness of ideas running into one another, no structure / order

Humour / irony

Ridicule, mock or attack, to entertain, amuse, to reveal painful truths

! or ?

Shock, anger, outrage, uncertainty, persuasion

Onomatopoeia

Shock, sudden changes, softness

Soft, long, elongated vowels

Soothing, gentle, dull, boring

Flashback/ Foreshadowing

Structural alteration, often for tension or explanation of key ideas

Lots of commas

Stuttering, stumbling, broken up ideas, taking things slowly, relaxation

Things to keep in mind

Subject Structure and Form no of stanzas enjambment end stopped anaphora sonnet/ couplets/ tercet/ quatrains/ sestet etc Rhyme Rhythm Attitude & tone Techniques used by the poet Acoustic imagery alliteration assonance consonance sibilance fricative sounds soft/elongated vowels Visual Olfactory Tactile Gustatory Kinaesthetic polysyndeton triads/ tricolon/ list of three ! or ? Caesura lots of commas Foregrounding/ foreshadowing Short sentences Long sentences complex diction simple diction repetition personification pronouns First person narrator third person narrator Modal verbs Present tense past tense tense change ambiguity simile metaphor personification onomatopoeia hyperbole oxymoron

First person narrator

Subjective, uncertain, unreliable, vivid, more realistic, personal

Length change/Paragraph length

Sudden switches from short to long / long to short - an important change Basically the same as sentences - again look for sudden changes in length

Tense change

Switch from present / past / future - an important change, new perspective

The Definite Article -

The definite article is the word the. The definite article limits the meaning of a noun to one particular thing - it is specific! The definite article can be used with singular, plural, or uncountable nouns.

Tone

The emotion of the persona / character - do we sympathise or disagree?

The Indefinite Article -

The indefinite article takes two forms. It's the word a when it precedes a noun that begins with a consonant. It's an when it precedes a noun that begins with a vowel. The indefinite article indicates that a noun doesn't refer to a particular thing. The indefinite article only appears with singular nouns.

Narrator intervention

Truth, a different perspective, comment on the world

Plosive/ Harsh consonants

Violent, angry, curt

Pronouns

We = together, group, communal (possibly author with reader) I = isolated, alone, separate, personal, intimate, self chronicling, You = persuasive & inclusive, accusatory (also separate)

Title

What does it tell you about the poem's subject, tone, and genre? What does it suggest? Is there a certain expectation? What does it promise? Is it obvious? Specific Simple? Effective? Crude? Antithetical? E.g. Fire and Ice?? Ambiguous? Open to multiple interpretations? Does it specify literary type? Sonnet ... Ode to ... Object? Event? Symbol? Metaphor?

Ambiguity

Why have things have been left ambiguous - uncertainty or mystery?

Enjambment: blanket statement

a kaleidoscope of varied, simultaneous ideas build. allows certain words to be framed.

Neologism/word coinage

a newly coined word or expression.

Juxtaposition

is a literary technique in which two or more ideas, places, characters and their actions are placed side by side in a narrative or a poem for the purpose of developing comparisons and contrasts.

free verse: Blanket Statement

less formal, enables poet to convey ultimate feelings. Poet uses his freedom to arrange his line length for effect to emphasize words and ideas.

synecdoche

literary device in which a part of something represents the whole or it may use a whole to represent a part. It's a bit like metonymy but not quite

Asyndeton

the omission or absence of a conjunction between parts of a sentence - It is used to shorten a sentence and focus on its meaning. For example, Julius Caesar leaving out the word "and" between the sentences "I came. I saw. I conquered."

Synaesthesia

the production of a sense impression relating to one sense or part of the body by stimulation of another sense or part of the body a technique adopted by writers to present ideas, characters or places in such a manner that they appeal to more than one senses like hearing, seeing, smell etc. at a given time.

euphony

the quality of being pleasing to the ear, especially through a harmonious combination of words. the tendency to make phonetic change for ease of pronunciation.

Polysyndeton -

the use of several conjunctions in close succession - he ran and jumped and laughed for joy. It is a stylistic scheme used to achieve a variety of effects: it can increase the rhythm of prose, speed or slow its pace, convey solemnity or even ecstasy and childlike exuberance. Another common use of polysyndeton is to create a sense of being overwhelmed, or in fact directly overwhelm the audience by using conjunctions, rather than commas, leaving little room for a reader to breathe. It makes use of coordinating conjunctions like "and", "or", "but" and "nor" (mostly and and or) which are used to join successive words, phrases or clauses in such a way that these conjunctions are even used where they might have been omitted. For example, in the sentence "We have ships and men and money and stores,".