Poetry Terms English II

Types of Poems Blank Verse Fixed Form Free Verse Epic Poetry Lyric Poetry Narrative Poetry Dramatic Poetry Haiku Sonnet Ballad

Blank Verse Unrhymed iambic pentameter, which is a pattern of five repetitions of unstressed syllables followed by a stressed syllable

Fixed Form Poetry with a set meter and/or rhyme scheme Example: Sonnet, Haiku

Free Verse/Form A type of poetry that has no specific rules of rhyme, meter, or length Example: “The Red Wheelbarrow”

Epic A long and highly stylized narrative poem celebrating the heroic achievements of its hero. Example: The Odyssey

Lyric Poetry Romantic or descriptive poems that contain an expression of the poet’s feelings and thoughts Example: Neruda’s “If you forget me”

Narrative Poem that tells a story Example: “Theme B for English”

Dramatic Poetry Uses dramatic form in some way (ex: monologue, dialogue, stressing of tense situation and/or emotional conflict) Example: “My Last Duchess”

Haiku Fixed form poem Usually about nature Three lines 17 syllables

Sonnet Lyric poem with 14 lines Meter is Iambic Pentameter (five feet of stressed and unstressed syllables; 10 syllables total) 3 quatrains (stanza with 4 lines) and 1 couplet (two rhyming lines) Usually about love English version made famous by Shakespeare Shakespearian Sonnet has a rhyme scheme of ababcdcdefefgg

Ballad A narrative poem, often of folk origin, intended to be sung Example: “Ballad of Barbara Allen”

Sound Devices Meter Rhyme Scheme Rhythm Repetition Refrain Stanza Iambic Pentameter Rhyme Scheme End Internal Slant Eye Rhythm Repetition Refrain Stanza Couplet Alliteration Assonance Onomatopoeia

Repetition The repeating of key words or phrases for effect Example: “Ning Nang Nong”

Meter Set rhythm in a poem based on stressed and unstressed syllables Example: Iambic pentameter in sonnets

Rhythm Musical quality produced by language

Rhyme End – words at the end of lines rhyme Slant – an off-rhyme at the end of poetry lines where only the vowel sounds are the same Internal – rhyming words are found within a line of poetry Eye – visual or sight rhyme

Rhyme Scheme Assigning letters to the last word in a poem based on its rhyme. Used to determine form, if any Example: Row, row, row your boat (A) Gently down the stream (B) Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily (C) Life is but a dream (B)

Refrain Repeating line or lines in a poem Example: chorus in a song

Stanza Lines grouped together in a poem

Alliteration Repetition of initial consonant sound/letter Example: Peter piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.

Assonance Repetition of a vowel sound Example: The broom zoomed through the room.

Onomatopoeia Words where meaning is reflected in sound Example: Bzzzzz POW

Literary Devices Connotation/Denotation Idiom Metaphor Simile Personification Hyperbole Allusion Irony Situational Dramatic Verbal Symbol Mood Tone

Word Meaning Connotation – all the meanings associated with a word Denotation – dictionary definition of that word Example: cool

Idiom A phrase that cannot be understood by the literal meaning of its words Example: Raining cats and dogs.

Comparisons Simile – comparison of two different things using “like” or “as” Metaphor – a figure of speech that compares two different things without using “like” or “as”

Personification Gives human characteristics to something that is not human

Hyperbole An exaggeration for effect

Allusion An implied or indirect reference to a person, place, or thing that is fictitous, historical, or real Example: 1492

Irony Situational – the expected results in a situation are not the actual results that occur Dramatic – the audience understands or knows something that characters do not know Verbal – words that say one thing and mean another

Symbol An thing (title, object, etc) that represents something more than itself/stands for something Example: The jacket from “On the Bridge”

Mood The atmosphere or feeling in a literary work

Tone The author’s intended attitude toward his or her subject, usually used to set a mood in the work