Poetic techniques

• Ballad

  • a narrative poem
  • Made of quatrains
  • Popular in medieval period
  • Plot driven poems that show the events Rather than describing them
• Blank verse

  • unrhymed, metered lines which primarily use iambic pentameter
  • Mirror speech patterns
  • Can easily be well understood by reader
• Couplet

  • 2 consecutive rhyming lines used to end pattern of a shakespearean sonnet
  • Clear repetitive rhyming rhythm to emphasise point
• Dramatic monologue

  • A poem where the speaker addresses a listener
  • Often a separate unnamed character
  • Allows writer to create a layered speaker with emotional depth
  • Insight created from hearing innermost thoughts
  • Increases emotional investment and engagement
• elgy

  • a poem written as a lament for the dead
  • Covers themes of mourning and reflection
  • Elegies express emotions rather than tell a story
  • Encourage the reader to view the speaking as vulnerable
  • Builds an emotional connection
• End-stopped

  • a line ending with a full pause
  • Often made clear with a full stop or (semi) colon
• Epic poem

  • extremely long book length poem
  • Relays a heroic tale
  • Aims to inspire
• Free verse

  • non rhyming, non-metrical lines that closely mimic spoken English
  • Gives a poet more freedom in dictation
  • Conveys a message without structural Restrictions
  • Reader can easily understand message
• Iambic pentameter

  • rhyme structure commonly used in Shakespeare
  • Uses unstressed syllable followed by stressed syllable 5 times in a line
  • ABAB
  • mimic rhythm of a heartbeat
  • relaxed on the ear
  • easier to remember
• Metre

  • basic rhythmic structure of a line
• ode

  • a lyric poem used to express a writers thoughts with intense emotions
  • Clearly expresses deep emotions
• Petrarchan sonnet

  • made up of an octave (ABBAABBA) And a sestet (CDCDCD or CDECDE)
  • Octave at beginning often presents a question while the sestet at the end relieves tension creating a calming and satisfying conclusion
• Poetic form

  • structural rules of a poem (rhythm, metre, rhyme scheme)
  • Adds depth to a poem and reiterates themes and emotions
• Rhyme scheme

  • pattern of rhymes at the end of lines in a poem
  • Can vary stanza to stanza
  • Clear rhythm makes it easy for reader to remember and emphasises important aspects
• shakespearean sonnet

  • sonnet of 3 quatrains concluding with a rhyming couplet
  • ABAB CDCD EFEF GG
  • Alternate rhymes in each quatrain create a clear contrast between lines and sections
  • The rhyming couplets at the end neatly round of the poem finishing the key themes
• Sonnet

  • a fixed verse poem
  • 14 lines
  • 10 syllables per line
  • Explored differences and tensions between 2 people, concepts and emotions
• Volta

  • turning point in a sonnet
  • Argument changes or shift in speakers thought process
  • Engages readers attention
  • Forces reader to examine reasons for the shift
  • Encourages deeper engagement
• stanza types

  tercet- 3 lines

  quatrain- 4 lines

  quintain- 5 lines

  sestet- 6 lines

  septet- 7lines

  octave- 8 lines

  
  

  help to change the physical form of the poem

  
  

  help the writer to group ideas together in a clear and concise way that keeps them separate but related