Poetry Terms

Alliteration

The repetition of a beginning consonant sound.

Allusion

References to people, places, things, etc., that the poet expects us to understand.

Apostrophe

when words are addressed to a person or thing - absent or present - or to a personified idea such as death

Assonance

the repetition of vowel sounds within words

ex. “Tiny white sea lice”

Blank Verse

unrhymed iambic pentameter

But soft! What light through yonder window breaks?

Consonance

the close repetition of the same consonant sounds within and at the end of words

ex. “…he sweats from pores round as goblets full of swamps.”

Couplet

two consecutive and rhyming lines that are usually equal in length

ex. So long as men can breathe or eyes can see

So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.

Elegy

a poem of meditative nature, usually one of grief

Euphemism

a mild, inoffensive word or expression used in place of one that is harsh or unpleasant

ex. to pass away for die

eliminate for kill

Figurative language

intentional departure from normal language to gain strength and freshness of expression, to create a picture quality and poetic effect

Foot

a combination of accented and unaccented syllables which make a metrical unit

a foot may incorporate syllables from different words/may cut across words

Hyperbole

exaggeration for emphasis

iamb

one unaccented syllable followed by one accented syllable

More Feet

anapest = three accented syllables in a row

dactyle = one accented + two unaccented

spondee = two accented

trochee = one accented + one

unaccented

Free verse

verse which does not conform to any fixed pattern

rhyme and rhythm occur only incidentally

Imagery

words that bring to mind visual, auditory, tactile, or other sensory thoughts, feelings and memories

Lyric

any short poem that seems to be especially musical and expresses, in most instances, the poet’s clearly revealed thoughts and feelings

Metaphor

a figure of speech in which two things are compared without the use of like or as

ex. Love is a rose.

Meter

the pattern or rhythm determined by the accented and unaccented syllables in a line of poetry

meter is established by the repetition of a dominant foot

Meter - continued

monometer = one footdimeter = two feettrimeter = three feettetrameter = four feetpentameter = five feethexameter = six feetex. iambic pentameter is a line of verse

consisting of five iambs

Mood

the frame of mind or state of feeling created by a piece of writing

ex. sorrowful mood

sentimental mood

Narrative poem

poem that tells you a story

Ode

a lengthy dignified poem expressing exalted or enthusiastic emotion

Onomatopoeia

words that imitate sound

enables the writer to express sense through sound

ex. splash, buzz, pow, murmur

Parody

a humorous imitation of a serious piece of writing

Personification

gives human qualities to non-human things

Quatrain

a four-line stanza

Rhyme

the repetition of syllable sounds at the ends of words

ex. beautiful, dutiful

Rhyme scheme

the pattern of end rhyme in a poem marked with letters, beginning with “a” and continuing through the alphabet

Simile

a comparison using like or as

ex. Love is like a rose

Sonnet

a poem consisting of 14 lines usually written in iambic pentameter

Petrarchan and Shakespearean/English

Stanza

a group of related lines that forms a section of a poem

Symbol

an image that carries meaning beyond itself

Tone

the author’s attitude towards the subject