Poetry Terms:

Poetry Def. Writing that communicates a powerful message in a special way Example: * Lyric Poem * Haiku * Nursery rhyme

Line Def. A group of words written horizontally across the page Example: * horizon ↔

Stanza Def. A group of lines Example: It looks like a paragraph in a poem.

Couplet Def. A 2-line stanza Example: 1- True ease in writing come from art, not chance, 2- As those move easiest who have learned to dance.

Tercet Def. A 3-line stanza Example: 1. A murder of crows 2. Is something to see 3. After it snows.

Quatrain Def. A 4-line stanza Example: Who has seen the wind? Neither I nor you; But when the leaves hang trembling The wind is passing through.

Rhyme Def. When the end syllables of 2 or more words sound the same (note: spelling does not matter) Example: * high/ by * you/ through

Alliteration def. The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of each word Example: * Bush’s Bumbling Brigadiers * Stars Set * Low and Loud

Repetition Def. Using the same word or group of words over and over Example: * In Windy Nights by R. L. Stevenson – whenever, by, and gallop – are used to mimic the sound of the wind

Meter/ rhythm Def. Patterns of sounds in a poem that give it a musical quality or a “beat”

Rhyme scheme Def. A pattern of rhymes within a stanza (rhyme scheme for poem above = abcb) Example: - wind a - you b - trembling c - through b

Traditional verse Def. Poetry that has a regular meter and rhyme scheme Example: “Loveliest of Trees” (poem used above)

Free verse Def. Poetry that has no regular meter of rhyme Example: “Song of Myself” by W. Whitman I believe a leaf of grass is no less than the journey-work of the stars, And the pismire is equally perfect, and a grain of sand, and the egg of a wren. And the tree-toad is a chef-d’oeuvre for the highest, …

Figurative language Def. Words that create mental picture and bring out emotion Example: Metaphor, simile, and personification

Personification: Def. When human characteristics are given to non-human things Example: * the trees are crying aloud

Onomatopoeia Def. Words that imitate sounds Example: Twittering, bleating, barking

Metaphor Def. Compares two unlike things but not using like or as. Example: Jamie is a bubbling brook.

Simile Def. Comparing two things using the words, like, than, or as Example: From “Paul Revere’s Ride” - Across the moon like a prison bar

Image Def. Words that refer to something the reader can understand by one of his or her senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch Example: * From “Paul Revere’s Ride” – that shall echo forevermore – sound * From “Loveliest of Trees” – “the cherry now is hung with bloom along the bough” – sight

Symbol Def. An image that stand for something else, something beyond itself Example: * Wind is a traditional symbol for change. * Winter is a symbol for old age and death.

Hyperbole Def: an obvious exaggeration for effect. Example: By the time 2nd period is over I’m starving to death! “I’ll just die if I don’t get to see the Justin Bieber movie,” said Maggie

Allusion Def: mentioning or referencing some person, place, literary character, event in history which most people would be familiar with. Ex: The argument my brother and sister had was World War II. The only person more honest than John is Abraham Lincoln.

Speaker Def. The narrator of a poem, not necessarily the poet, himself.

Theme Def. The main idea or message expressed in a poem.

Tone Def. The author’s attitude Example: Sarcastic, sad, disconnected

Mood: Def. The feeling a reader is supposed to get from a piece of writing. Example: Fear, pity, offended, content

Lyric Poem: Def. Writing that expresses the ideas & emotions of the author

Narrative Poem: Poem that tells a story