Literary Terms for Poetry English II CP Ms. C. Lee

Poetry Basics: Stanza Forms stanza: a division in a poem, named for the number of lines it contains; distinguished from each other with line breaks Couplet: a pair of rhyming lines Tercet: a stanza containing three (3) lines Quatrain: a stanza (or entire poem) containing four (4) lines Cinquain: a stanza (or entire poem) containing five (5) lines Sestet: a stanza containing six (6) lines Septet: a stanza containing seven (7) lines Octave: a stanza containing eight (8) lines

Poetry Basics: Figurative Language Imagery: “word pictures” achieved through use of vivid and specific sensory details Simile: comparison using “like” or “as” Metaphor: direct comparison w/o “like” or “as” Extended metaphor: when a metaphor is carried through an entire piece to compare Personification: giving human traits to non- human things Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration for emphasis or effect

Poetry Basics: Rhyme & Meter Rhyme scheme: the pattern of rhyming lines in a poem [ex: abab, aabb, abca, etc.] Meter: the rhythmic pattern established by stresses or beats within each line of a poem. iambic pentameter: five pairs of iambs; line of poetry will have 10 syllables [one “iamb” is a 2- syllable unit comprised of one unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable] free verse: poetry with no set rhyme scheme or metrical pattern

Reading poetry: Speaker Speaker: the voice of a poem, who is sharing his/her feelings or situation Comparable to narrator of a story and therefore can be characterized like one NOT to be confused with the POET, since s/he might be taking on an entirely different persona Determining the Speaker: Examine… Overall situation presented in the poem Title can be a HUGE clue Figurative or colloquial language Any descriptive details

Reading Poetry: Enjambment Enjambment: when a sentence, thought, or other grammatical division goes beyond the end of a line, couplet, or stanza and into the next Read THROUGH the thought; do not automatically stop at the end of the line. Reasons to Use Enjambment: Assist with pacing or rhythm Express multiple ideas; reinforce main idea Reader thinks about the idea longer Tricks reader; thought may go in different direction than expected

Types of Rhyme end rhyme : when rhyming words appear at the ends of the lines of poetry internal rhyme : rhymes that appear within lines vs. at the ends slant rhyme: aka near rhyme, half-rhyme, or imperfect rhyme uses words with similar, but not exact, end sounds, or relies on consonance or assonance for rhymes [Ex: gill and shell; understand and find] A “staple” of rap music

Sound Devices Alliteration: the repetition of INITIAL consonant sounds [Peter Piper picked…] Assonance: repetition of internal vowel sounds [sad, glad, mad] Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds within or at ends of words [There is no right time to imitate the teacher.] Onomatopoeia: words that “sound” like sounds [woof, moo, bang, crash]

Special Forms of Poetry: Narrative Poetry Tells a story Has a plot, characters, setting, point of view Makes use of story techniques like suspense and foreshadowing Most common forms are epics and ballads

Characteristics of Ballads Simple language Contain dialogue Objective narration (sometimes 1st person) Heavily reliance on rhythm and rhyme Repetition of a refrain Some use incremental repetition A phrase recurs, with minor differences, throughout the ballad

Lyric Poetry The most common type of poetry in modern literature Expresses the thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and state of mind of a single speaker Uses melodic language, imagery, rhythm, and sound devices to express emotions Main forms include Odes Elegies: poems of loss that express praise for the dead Sonnets Haiku Tanka

The Extended Metaphor A metaphor developed over several lines of text, or at different points throughout a text Often serve the basis for an entire poem Different Methods: Explicit comparison: writer makes a direct metaphor, then develops it by comparing characteristics of the two things Implicit comparison: comparison of the traits of the two things are developed over several lines without saying straight out what the two things are Example: Romeo and Juliet, I, iii Example: “The Road Not Taken,” by Robert Frost

Special Form of Poetry: SONNETS All sonnets contain 14 lines All sonnets use iambic pentameter (blank verse) All sonnets pose a problem or question in the first part and attempts to answer it in second part/half Two main types: Petrarchan Elizabethan (Shakespearean)

Petrachan Sonnet Created by Petrarch, an Italian poet Its 14 lines are divided into two parts: OCTAVE: poses a question or presents a problem that the speaker is seeking insight into SESTET: attempts to answer the question, solve the problem, express enlightenment/an epiphany The point at which the sonnet shifts in content is called the volta Rhyme scheme: Octave: abba/abba Sestet: cdcdcd OR cddcdd OR cdecde, OR cdeced, OR cdcedc

Elizabethan Sonnet Aka English sonnet, aka Shakespearean sonnet Also has 14 lines, but… Breaks into 3 distinct quatrains and one ending couplet Rhyme scheme of abab/cdcd/efef/gg. Always. Each quatrain can expresses a thought, often building to the intensity of the couplet, or The quatrains are parallel and use different metaphors to express the poet’s concern/problem The volta can come at line 9 or, most often, at the ending couplet

Special Forms: Haiku & Tanka Both are Japanese forms of poetry Describe a scene from nature Use imagery/sensory details to convey a single vivid emotion or impression Haiku: 3 unrhymed lines, 5/7/5 Tanka: 5 unrhymed lines, 5/7/5/7/7