Poetry Terminology for Leaving Cert English

Essential poetry terminology refers to the specific language used to describe the techniques, structures, and forms found in poems. Understanding these terms is crucial for analysing poetry effectively and achieving top marks in the Leaving Certificate English exam.

To deepen your understanding of poetic analysis, consider how descriptive essay writing also relies on precise language to evoke imagery and mood, much like poetry itself.

Key Poetry Terminology for Analysis

Examiners expect you to identify and explain poetic devices, showing how they contribute to meaning and effect. Here are fundamental terms:

• Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words close together (e.g., ‘silent song’). It creates rhythm and can emphasise words.
• Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds within words (e.g., ‘fleet feet sweep’). This also adds to musicality and often links ideas.
• Imagery: Language that appeals to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) to create vivid mental pictures. Poets use it to evoke emotion and create atmosphere.
• Metaphor: A direct comparison between two unlike things, stating one is the other (e.g., ‘The world is a stage’). It provides new ways of seeing.
• Simile: A comparison between two unlike things using ‘like’ or ‘as’ (e.g., ‘He fought like a lion’). Similes make descriptions more vivid and relatable.
• Personification: Giving human qualities or actions to inanimate objects or abstract ideas (e.g., ‘The wind whispered secrets’). This can make the abstract more concrete.
• Rhyme Scheme: The pattern of rhymes at the end of lines in a poem, usually denoted by letters (e.g., ABAB). Rhyme schemes add structure and musicality.
• Rhythm/Metre: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. It creates the poem’s ‘beat’ and can influence its pace and tone.
• Enjambment: The continuation of a sentence or phrase from one line of poetry to the next without a pause. It can create suspense or a sense of fluidity.

Understanding Poetic Forms and Structure

Beyond individual devices, understanding broader poetic forms is also essential for a comprehensive analysis of poetry terminology. This can inform your appreciation of a poet’s choices.

• Stanza: A group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a poem; a verse. Analysing stanza breaks can reveal shifts in focus or emotion.
• Sonnet: A 14-line poem, typically written in iambic pentameter, with a specific rhyme scheme. There are two main types: Shakespearean (ABAB CDCD EFEF GG) and Petrarchan (ABBAABBA CDECDE).
• Free Verse: Poetry that does not rhyme or have a regular metre. It aims to capture the rhythms of natural speech.
• Ballad: A poem or song narrating a story in short stanzas, often with a refrain. Ballads often tell tales of adventure or romance.
• Ode: A lyrical stanzaic poem in praise of, or dedicated to, someone or something. Odes often have a formal structure and elevated tone.

💡 Examiner insight: A common mistake is simply identifying a poetic device without explaining its effect. Don’t just say ‘There’s alliteration here’; instead, explain what effect the alliteration has on the reader’s understanding or the poem’s mood. Demonstrate how it enhances meaning.

A strong grasp of Leaving Cert Poetry fundamentals is critical. For instance, in analysing poems like ‘Day Trip to Donegal’ by Derek Mahon, identifying the poet’s use of specific terms enhances your essay’s depth.

Key Takeaways for Exam Success

• Always define the poetic term accurately in your essay.
• Show, don’t just tell: provide direct examples from the poem.
• Critically analyse the effect of the device on the poem’s meaning, tone, or reader.
• Practice identifying these terms in various poems to build confidence and speed.