The Function of Specific Words and Phrases: Study Guide (English Literature 2.4)

Small units, large effects

Poets work in a small space, so single words and short phrases carry heavy loads. This topic looks at four ways words and phrases do work:

1. Referents and antecedents: how one word points back to another.
2. Ambiguous referents: when a pointing word could point in more than one direction.
3. Repetition: words or phrases that return.
4. Alliteration: repeated sounds at the start of nearby words.

For each, the analysis has the same shape: notice the feature, name it precisely, then say what it does in this poem.

Antecedents and referents

A referent is the thing a word points to. The antecedent is the word, phrase or clause that comes before the referent. Pronouns (he, she, it, they, this) are the usual examples: in “Anna lost her key”, “her” refers to Anna, and “Anna” is the antecedent.

In poems the antecedent may be a noun in the line above, a whole clause or even the title. Tennyson’s short poem “The Eagle” begins “He clasps the crag with crooked hands”; the “He” has no antecedent in the lines themselves, so the reader goes back to the title, which supplies it. That use of the title is a choice, and it affects the opening: the poem starts mid-action, as if we have glanced up and seen the bird already gripping the rock.

Ambiguous referents

A referent is ambiguous if it can refer to more than one antecedent. Compare:

• “Anna told Lucia that Lucia had lost it.” (clear)
• “Anna told Lucia she had lost it.” (she could be Anna or Lucia, and it is not identified)

A poet may use ambiguity to hold two readings together, to show confusion, or to leave something unsaid. When you find one, do two things:

1. Name the possible referents.
2. Say how each reading affects interpretation, and what the ambiguity suggests overall.

Repetition

Repetition of a word or phrase draws attention to it and gathers associations. It can emphasise an idea (the same word returns because the speaker cannot stop thinking about it), build rhythm, or change meaning as the context around the repeated word changes. Ask:

• What is repeated, and how many times?
• Is it repeated exactly, or with a small change? A small change is often where the meaning lies.
• What does each repeated use add?

Alliteration

Alliteration is the repetition of the same sound at the beginning of adjacent or nearby words. It draws attention to those words and to what they have in common. Treat claims about sound carefully: sound reinforces meaning that the words already carry; it does not create meaning alone. A good sentence on alliteration names the words, names the sound, and links the sound to the content: “The hard k sound in ‘clasps the crag with crooked hands’ reinforces the picture of a tight grip on rock.”

Worked example 1: alliteration and word choice in a public-domain poem

Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Eagle” (1851) in full:

He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ring’d with the azure world, he stands.

The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.

Step 1: Antecedent. The “he” in the first line points back to the title, so the eagle is named before the poem begins and then referred to only as “he”. The effect is to treat the bird as a person: “hands”, “he”, “watches”.

Step 2: Alliteration.

• “clasps … crag … crooked” repeat a hard k sound at the start of nearby words. The sound is quick and hard, which reinforces the grip of the bird on the rock.
• “Close to the sun in lonely lands” shares the sounds of “close” with “crag” (k) and repeats the l of “lonely lands”. The slower l sounds fit the idea of distance and solitude.

Step 3: Word choice. The verb “clasps” suggests a hold, as hands hold. “Crooked” adds an impression of bent talons and age. “Ring’d with the azure world” places the bird at the centre of the sky. By contrast, the sea “crawls”. The verb belongs to a small creature, so the huge sea is made small and slow by the eagle’s height. That is a contrast of scale, created by the verb.

Step 4: Repeated end sounds. Each stanza rhymes all three lines (“hands, lands, stands”; “crawls, walls, falls”). The tight pattern of repeated endings keeps the poem compact, like the bird’s poise, and the last rhyme word, “falls”, ends the poem on the one moment of movement.

Step 5: Say what it does. The sounds and words present the eagle as powerful, still and high above the world, and then, at the end, as a falling “thunderbolt” in one line.

Model sentence: “The alliteration of ‘clasps’, ‘crag’ and ‘crooked’ reinforces the bird’s tight grip, while the verb ‘crawls’ for the sea below makes the vast water seem slow and small, so word choice and sound together place the eagle at an overwhelming height.”

Worked example 2: ambiguous referents (original poem, written by Marlbridge)

Lost

When Anna told Lucia she had lost it,
neither of them said what it was.
They sat. The kettle did what kettles do.
She had, she said again, lost it,
and Lucia nodded as if it had been hers.

Step 1: Find the referents.

• “she” in the first line: it could refer to Anna (she lost it) or to Lucia (Anna told Lucia that Lucia had lost it). The structure of the sentence allows both readings.
• “it”: the poem never gives it an antecedent. Line 2 says “neither of them said what it was”, which makes the missing antecedent a feature of the poem.
• “She” in line 4: it could be either woman again.
• “hers” in the last line: it could refer to Lucia’s own thing, or to what Anna lost (“as if it had been hers”, Lucia’s).

Step 2: Say how each reading affects interpretation.

• If she is Anna, Lucia is a listener. Her nodding “as if it had been hers” suggests she is sympathising so completely that she shares the loss.
• If she is Lucia, Anna is accusing or informing her, and Lucia’s nod is an acceptance of blame.

Step 3: Say what the ambiguity does. The poem refuses to settle who has lost what. That reflects the two women’s silence: they do not say what “it” is, and the grammar will not say who lost it. The ambiguity makes the reader share the awkwardness of a conversation where both people understand more than they say. The unnamed “it” can stand for anything lost (a key, a person, a faith), which widens the poem’s reach.

Step 4: Check against the detail. The calm line “The kettle did what kettles do” contrasts with the emotional weight of the unnamed “it”, and the nodding “as if” keeps the reader uncertain whether the sympathy is real.

Model paragraph opening: “The ambiguous pronouns in ‘Lost’ make the reader unable to tell who has lost ‘it’ or what ‘it’ is. By leaving ‘she’ open between Anna and Lucia and never naming ‘it’, the poem enacts a conversation in which the loss is shared but unspoken.”

Strong and weak statements about words and phrases

Weak	Why it is weak	Stronger
“The poet uses alliteration.”	Names the device only	“The k sounds of ‘clasps’, ‘crag’ and ‘crooked’ reinforce the picture of a tight grip.”
“The word ‘crawls’ is a good word.”	Evaluates; no effect	“‘Crawls’ gives the sea the movement of a small creature, which shows how far below the eagle it is.”
“The pronoun is unclear.”	Notes a problem; no interpretation	“The unclear ‘she’ leaves it open whether Anna or Lucia has lost ‘it’, which keeps the loss shared and unspoken.”
“The repetition emphasises the idea.”	Generic	“The repeated ‘for no one’ makes the ringing phone an image of loneliness that does not stop.”

Checking your inference

1. Have you named the feature precisely? “Antecedent”, “referent”, “repetition” and “alliteration” have exact meanings.
2. Have you listed the possible referents? Where there is ambiguity, give both readings.
3. Have you tied sound to meaning? Do not claim a sound is “harsh” without linking it to the words and context.
4. Have you said what it does here? A claim that would be true of any poem is too general.

Common misconceptions

• “Alliteration means the same letter.” It is the same sound at the start of nearby words.
• “Repetition is a mistake or filler.” In a short poem, repetition is almost always a choice.
• “A pronoun always has a clear antecedent.” In poems the antecedent may be a title, a clause, or missing on purpose.
• “Ambiguity means the poet could not decide.” It may be deliberate, and your job is to say what the double reading adds.
• “Certain sounds always mean certain things.” A hard sound can suggest a grip in one poem and a quarrel in another. Link it to the context.
• “One device is enough.” Strong analysis often shows how word choice, sound and repetition work together.

Where this leads

Try the practice questions, then use the checklist and revision notes. The next topic, Simile and metaphor, looks at words that compare one thing with another. For the contrast of scale in “The Eagle”, see also Contrasts within a poem.