LAMDA THEORY –Figures of speech, phrasing and sense groups, pauses and end stopping

LAMDA THEORY –Figures of speech, phrasing and sense groups, pauses and end stopping

  • ALLITERATION: Repetition of an initial consonant:

 Peter Piper pecked a pepper.

  • ASSONANCE: Repetition of a vowel sound:

 A flicker of light, glittering, just out of sight

  • ONOMATOPOEIA:

    Words that make a similar sound to their meaning when spoken aloud: pop/hiss/crackle

  • ANTITHESIS:

    When a word, phrase or idea is set in opposition to another, resulting in a strong contrast or ambiguity which can often surprise or shock:

 Dinosaur roar, dinosaur squeak, Dinosaur fierce, dinosaur meek.

  • SIMILIE:


When one thing is likened to another, recognised by use of ‘like’ or ‘as’:

 My love is like a red, red rose

  • METAPHOR:


Turns on thing into something else:

Beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-eyed monster, which doth mock, the meat it feeds on.

  • PERSONIFICATION:

    Personification is when you give an animal or object qualities or abilities that only a human can have:

 The car wept as it came to an abrupt halt.

  • PHRASING (A group of words which make sense, but not complete sense on their own)

  • PAUSING (When sound stops – brings meaning & mood)

  • SENSE-GROUPS:      A group of words which make sense when put together, often introducing a fresh idea.

  • BREATH-GROUPS:The number of sense-groups that can be easily said in one breath. May be longer than sense-groups and should occur where a longer pause is indicated by text.

  • PARENTHESIS:

Brackets, commas, hyphens used when a word, phrase or sentence is inserted as an explanation or after thought. The prose would make sense if the words inside parenthesis were removed.

  • SENSE PAUSE:         

Oral punctuation used to mark the sense at the beginning or end of a sense-group.

  • EMPHATIC PAUSE:

 A pause used to isolate a word or phrase which therefore achieves prominence & builds suspense and climax.

  • EMOTIONAL PAUSE:

 When voice is suspended by the strong working of emotions.

  • RHYTHMICAL/METRICAL PAUSE:

 Used at ends of lines/in between stanzas to indicate form & pattern of verse. Should be timed with the rhythm of the verse.

  • CAESURAL PAUSE:

A slight pause which occurs mid-line, usually indicated by a break in sense or a punctuation mark.

  • SUSPENSORY PAUSE:

A pause on the word itself – the speaker must continue to the next line without a breath pause.

  • LINE STRUCTURES IN VERSE WHICH AFFECT PAUSING

  • END-STOPPING:

A pause or complete stop in sound, often indicated by a punctuation mark.

  • ENJAMBMENT:

When the sense line of a verse continues onto the next line.