English Lit.

Exam Notes
Poetic Devices:
Sound:
 Alliteration: the noticeable repetition of same first consonant
sounds. For example: “fast and furious”.

 Assonance: a repeated vowel sound in words that are together or

near each other in a sentence. For example: “That solitude
which suits abstruse musings”.

 Rhyme: a repetition of words having the same sound at the end

of the line. For example: “Humpty dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty dumpty had a great fall”.

 Consonance: a literary device that involves the repetition of

consonant sounds at the end or in the middle of words in close
proximity. For example: “Mike likes his new bike”.

Meaning:
 Allusion: an indirect reference to a place, person, or an idea of
political, historical or cultural significance. For example: “Don’t
act like a Romeo in front of her”. In this sentence, Romeo refers
to Shakespeare’s work. Romeo signifies a passionate lover.

 Irony: this depicts a contradictory situation. It refers to a

situation that ends up in a different way than expected. For
example: “The policeman was arrested for murder”.
 English Lit. Exam Notes
 Metaphor: a comparison between two, unlike things. It shows
the resemblance between two completely different things. For
example: “She’s all states, and all princes, I…”.

 Oxymoron: two contradictory ideas are put together side by side

or in a sentence to create a good effect. For example:
“bittersweet” or “O loving hate!”

 Personification: a poetic device in which an animal, idea or

thing is given human characteristics. For example: “The
talkative night whispered secrets to those who listened.”

 Simile: a way of making a comparison. It shows the similarity

between two opposite things. For example: “He was as vibrant
as the yellow sun!”

Arrangement:
 Verse: this denotes a single line of a poem. The term is also
used for a stanza, or a specific part of poetry. There are two
types: free verse & blank verse.

 Free Verse: In this, a poem doesn’t have a set meter, and no

rhyming scheme is present. Also, the poem doesn’t have a
specific pattern. Poets use this to hide their fluctuation of
thoughts.

 Blank Verse: In a blank verse, you will not see the presence of
the rhyming scheme. But it has iambic pentameter. Poets use
iambic pentameter to showcase larger than life events.
 English Lit. Exam Notes
 Rhyme Scheme: It can also be defined as the pattern of rhyme
that comes at the last of every verse in the poem. It is a structure
of words used by poets to give rhyming effects.

Figures of Speech:
A figure of speech is essentially a word or phrase used in a non-literal
sense for rhetorical or vivid effect.
 Hyperbole: a statement is made emphatic by overstatement. For
example: “I’ve told you a million times!”

 Onomatopoeia: when words are used to portray sounds. For

example: “BOOM!” or “BANG!”.

 Paradox: a statement that is seemingly contradictory or opposed

to common sense and yet is perhaps true. For example: “The
child was the father of the man”.

 Euphemism: substituting offensive words for more agreeable or

inoffensive words. For example: “The man kicked the bucket”.

 Synecdoche: when a part represents a whole or vice versa. For

example: “All hands on deck!”

Funeral Blues:
The poem is a lament (or an elegy). The theme is death. The tone is
one of grief/despair. There is no hope in the poem. There are many
interesting images (metaphors) in stanza three.
 English Lit. Exam Notes
An elegy is written to mourn the death of a person whereas a dirge is
sung to mourn the death of a person.

Themes of Love & Loss:

In “Funeral Blues”, love is depicted as an all-encompassing and
deeply mourned, as the poet grieves the loss of a loved one. Loss is
portrayed as an overwhelming force, causing the speaker to yearn for
a world without joy, emphasizing the profound emptiness left in the
wake of their loved one’s death.