When a piece of writing can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one
Alliteration
The repetition of consonant sounds (often at the beginning of words)
FIND IT IN THESE POEMS
‘Not Waving but Drowning’ (page 321) ‘The Road Not Taken’ (page 332) ‘Caged Bird’ (page 348)
‘The Listeners’ (page 58) with sample answer (page 61) ‘Tich Miller’ (page 302) ‘Funeral Blues’ (page 316) ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ (page 334)
Allusion Assonance
A reference to a well-known story, phrase, person or event
The repetition of vowel sounds (usually in the middle of words)
‘Dulce et Decorum Est’ (page 157) ‘Same Love’ (page 307)
‘Tich Miller’ (page 302) ‘Funeral Blues’ (page 316) ‘The Road Not Taken’ (page 332) with sample answer (page 337) ‘Mid-Term Break’ (page 342) with sample answer (page 345)
Enjambment
A line whose meaning is not complete until you read on to the next line (also known as ‘run-on- line’)
Figurative language
Hyperbole Imagery
Language that uses words to express a meaning that is different from the literal meaning
Exaggeration of ideas in order to create emphasis and gain the reader’s attention
A word picture which a writer asks you to imagine in order to explain what they mean. Images may appeal to the sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch or taste.
‘Not Waving but Drowning’ (page 321) ‘Tree at My Window’ (page 336) ‘Digging’ (page 344) ‘Caged Bird’ (page 348)
‘Back in the Playground Blues’ (page 298)
‘Night Feed’ (page 289) ‘Back in the Playground Blues’ (page 298)
‘In Memory of George Best’ (page 305) with sample answer (page 306) ‘Same Love’ (page 307)
‘Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?’ (page 312) ‘Sunday Bloody Sunday’ (page 323) ‘Epitaph on a Tyrant’ (page 328) with sample answer (page 329) ‘The Road Not Taken’ (page 332) ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ (page 334) ‘Mid-Term Break’ (page 342) with sample answer (page 345) ‘Woman Work’ (page 346)
Irony
Saying something when you really mean the opposite; an ironic statement has both a literal and a hidden meaning
