Poetry Terms

Front of notecard (blank side) Term Picture

Back of notecard (lined side) Definition Example

Speaker

The voice talking in the poem, not necessarily the author/poet Ex: Edgar Allen Poe wrote “Annabel Lee” but he is not the speaker. Virginia Clem was the name of Poe’s wife, not Annabel Lee

Simile

Definition: A comparison between two dissimilar things using like, as, or than. Example: He eats like a pig! He is as dirty as a pig.

Metaphor

Definition: A comparison between two dissimilar things WITHOUT using like, as, or than. Example: My sister is an angel.

Imagery

Definition: Language/words that appeal to the senses (see, hear, smell, feel, taste). “Playing Outfield” – by Isabel Joshlin Glaser The baseball drops into your glove, Sounds like…. Thunk! (Or Plunk? Or Plop? Whop?)... But stays, Sounds like... Another sunny day, Dust, sweat shivering down, Clothes plastered to your skin, THIRST Sounds like you caught a flier, The other side’s out, And your team leads, Everybody’s yelling like crazy, HOORAY! water, please...

Personification

Definition: Giving human characteristics to non-human things. Example: “The sun smiled down on the emerald-green fields.”

Hyperbole

Definition: An extreme exaggeration. Ex: My backpack weighs a ton.

Allusion

Definition: A reference to a statement, person, place or event (especially from literature, mythology or the Bible) Example: “Before I’d pay I’d go to *Hades And rot away” (*from Greek mythology)

Symbolism

When a person, place, object, or action stands for something beyond itself. Doors in the movie Frozen “We’ll close the gates” “Don’t let them in. Don’t let them see” “ Please don’t shut me out again, please don’t slam the door” “Tell the guards to open up the gate” “The window is open, so’s that door” “Love is an open door”

Irony

Definition: The contrast between expectation and reality. Ex. The L.A. teacher’s son fails his writing assignment.

Pun

A play on the multiple meanings of words. Ex. I've been to the dentist many times, so I know the drill.

connotation

The implied emotional meaning of a word, not just the exact meaning. Thin→lean→skinny→gaunt

alliteration

Repetition of beginning consonant sounds close together. Example: She sells seashells on the seashore.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds throughout a line of poetry. Ex. Try to light the fire.

Repetition

When specific words or phrases are repeated two or more times throughout a poem. Example: Mary had a little lamb, little lamb, little lamb … When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child

Onomatopoeia

A sound effect word. Example: Bzzz goes the bee. The bacon sizzled in the pan. He gulped down the soda. The thunder rumbled.

Rhyme

Definition: The repetition of sounds in words close together in a poem Example: Roses are red Violets are blue You are so pretty And I love you

Rhyme Scheme a b

Definition: The pattern of end rhymes Ex. The ugly cat a sat on the mat a eating a mouse b as big as a house b and now he is fat a

Rhythm

Definition: A musical quality produced by the repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables. Example: TaDA TaDA TaDA

Stanza

In a poem, a group of lines that forms a single unit.

Tone (of voice)

The attitude the poet takes toward the audience, subject or character. Example:Tone can be sarcastic, cheerful, serious, or admiring etc..

Mood

The overall emotion created in the reader; the emotional atmosphere. Example: A scary, mysterious mood.

Free verse

A poem without regular patterns of rhyme and rhythm, with sounds of everyday speech. Example: The poem “Father is a Simple Man”

Narrative poem

A poem that tells a story Example: “The Highwayman”.

Sonnet

A poem that has a formal structure of 14 lines and a specific rhyme scheme.

Ode

A poem in honor of someone or something Ex. “Ode to Joy”