Poetry Terms

Stanza Example: (Couplet) For thy sweet love remembered such wealth brings That then I scorn to change my state with kings. A division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains. Couplet: two-line stanza Triplet: three-line stanza Quatrain: four-line stanza Quintet: five-line stanza

Meter The patterned repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry. Capitalized words are stressed. I DREAMED | there WOULD| be SPRING | no MORE

Rhythm The regular or random occurrence of sound in poetry. Regular rhythm: meter Random rhythm: free verse Accent words and syllables are underlined in this regular occurrence of sound: I said to my baby, Baby take it slow.... Lulu said to Leonard I want a diamond ring

Rhyme The similarity of likeness of sound existing between two words. Example: Sat and cat are perfect rhymes because the vowel and final consonant sounds are exactly the same.

Symbol A person, a place, a thing, or an event used to represent something else. Example: A dove is a symbol of peace

Mood The feeling a text arouses in the reader. Mood of the poem: dark, depressing. Edgar Allan Poe In visions of the dark night I have dreamed of joy departed But a waking dream of life and light Hath left me broken-hearted

Tone The overall feeling or effect created by a writer’s use of words. Tone of the poem is: sad My Papa's Waltz by Theodore Roethke The whiskey on your breath Could make a small boy dizzy; But I hung on like death: Such waltzing was not easy. We romped until the pans Slid from the kitchen shelf; My mother's countenance Could not unfrown itself. The hand that held my wrist Was battered on one knuckle; At every step you missed My right ear scraped a buckle. You beat time on my head With a palm caked hard by dirt, Then waltzed me off to bed Still clinging to your shirt.

Metaphor The use of words to state that two unlike things are similar BUT does not use “like” or “as”. Example: Her hair is silk. (Stating that hair is silk.)

Simile A comparison using “like” or “as” Example: His feet were as big as boats. (Comparing size of feet and boats.)

Personification Giving human qualities to ideas and things. Example: Her stomach growled.

Imagery Creating pictures for the senses. VERY descriptive. Example: Fear was his constant companion.

Onomatopoeia The use of words whose sounds suggests its meaning. Example: Spaghetti! Spaghetti! I love you a lot! You’re slishy, you’re sloshly, and you’re slurpy.

Assonance Repeated vowel sounds. There should be at least two repetitions in a row. Example: The cat sat on the mat and her hat.

Alliteration The repetition of the initial consonant. There should be at least two repetitions in a row. Example: Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled peppers.