KS3 ENGLISH POETIC TERMS

KS3 English Poetic Terms

Poetic Term Definition Example

Rhyme The linking of lines through a similarity in sound, usually at the end. It can be Rumble / grumble.
either full or half.
Prove / love.

Rhythm The number of syllables in a line and the speed at which these lines are to be Limerick (3), ballad (2), shape (1).
spoken.

Alliteration The repetition of the same sounds, usually initial consonants of words, in any Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
sequence of words. peppers

Assonance The repetition of identical or similar vowel sounds in neighbouring words. Moses supposes his toes smell of
roses

Onomatopoeia The use of words that seem to imitate the sounds they refer to. Whack, fizz, crackle, hiss, bang.

Personification A figure of speech by which animals or inanimate things are referred to as if they The tree stood, the wind blew.
were human.

Simile A comparison between two different things, actions, or feelings, using the words I wandered lonely as a cloud.
‘as’ or ‘like’.

Metaphor A comparison between two different things, actions, or feelings, saying one thing He is a pig.
‘is’ another.