English Literature GCSE
Enjambment
What Enjambment means in English Literature GCSE, as defined for Eduqas, OCR, Pearson Edexcel.
Definitions of Enjambment
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
When a sentence or phrase runs over from one poetic line to the next without terminal punctuation.
The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza.
When a sentence or phrase runs over from one line or stanza to the next without terminal punctuation.
When a sentence runs over a line break without punctuation.
The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. Byron uses this sparingly, for example, the first two lines. Most lines are end-stopped.
The continuation of a sentence without a pause beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza. For example, "Its fierce kiss will stay on your lips, / possessive and faithful..."
Topics that use Enjambment
- A Peasant (Eduqas GCSE)
- As Imperceptibly as Grief (Eduqas GCSE)
- Catrin (Eduqas GCSE)
- Component 1 (Eduqas GCSE)
- Cynddylan on a Tractor (Eduqas GCSE)
- Excerpt from The Prelude (Eduqas GCSE)
- Hawk Roosting (Eduqas GCSE)
- Living Space (Eduqas GCSE)
- Mametz Wood (Eduqas GCSE)
- Miracle on St David's Day (Eduqas GCSE)
- Section C (20%) Unseen Poetry (Eduqas GCSE)
- Skirrid Hill (Eduqas GCSE)
- Subject Content (Eduqas GCSE)
- The Hill Fort (Eduqas GCSE)
- The Manhunt (Eduqas GCSE)
- Valentine (Eduqas GCSE)
- Conflict Anthology (OCR GCSE)
- Exploring poetry and Shakespeare (02) (OCR GCSE)
- Love and Relationships Anthology (OCR GCSE)
- Poetry across time (OCR GCSE)
- She Walks in Beauty (OCR GCSE)
- Valentine (OCR GCSE)
- Comparing Texts (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Conflict Poetry Anthology (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Poetry (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Poetry Anthology: Conflict (15 poems – Romantic, Literary Heritage, Contemporary) (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Poetry Anthology: Relationships (15 poems – Romantic, Literary Heritage, Contemporary) (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Relationships Poetry Anthology (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Time and Place Poetry Anthology (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
- Unseen Contemporary Poetry Comparison (two unseen poems linked by theme) (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
Related terms
- Free Verse
- Caesura
- Dramatic Monologue
- Juxtaposition
- Semantic Field
- Personification
- Extended Metaphor
- Oxymoron
Using Enjambment in the exam
Definition questions usually carry one or two marks, and examiners look for the precise wording. Write the definition from memory, check it against the version above, and then use the term in a longer answer on the same topic so it sticks.
Practise English Literature questions
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