Poetry Terms

Poetry Noun 1.Literary work in which special intensity is given to the expression of feelings and ideas by the use of distinctive style and rhythm;... 2.A quality of beauty and intensity of emotion regarded as characteristic of poems: "poetry and fire are nicely balanced in the music". Synonyms verse - poem - poesy - rhyme

Lyric: A type of poetry that expresses the poet’s emotions. It often tells some sort of brief story, engaging the reader in the experience.

Prose: Writing organized into sentences and paragraphs that is not poetry. e.g. Novels and short stories are examples of prose.

Stanza: A major subdivision in a poem. A stanza of two lines is called a couplet; a stanza of three lines is called a tercet; a stanza of four lines is called a quatrain.

Quatrain: A four-line stanza.

Sonnet: A fourteen-line poem written in iambic pentameter. Different kinds of sonnets have different rhyme schemes. The most notable are Shakespeare’s Sonnets which employ the abab,cdcd,efef,gg rhyme scheme.

Epic: A long poem narrating the adventures of a heroic figure e.g. Homer’s The Odyssey.

Blank verse: Unrhymed lines of poetry usually in iambic pentameter. Plenty of modern poetry is written in blank verse.

Free Verse: Poetry with no set meter (rhythm) or rhyme scheme.

Elegy: A poem mourning the dead.

Internal rhyme: A rhyme that occurs within one line such as “He’s King of the Swing.”

A slant rhyme or half rhyme occurs when the vowel sounds are not quite identical.

“And on that cheek and o’er that brow” A mind at peace with all below”

The repetition of identical sounds at the ends of lines of poetry.

Couplets: A pair of rhyming lines in a poem often set off from the rest of the poem. Shakespeare’s sonnets all end in couplets.

Metaphor: A comparison of two unlike things using any form of the verb “to be”–-i.e. am, are, is, was, were. Ex: “This chair is a rock,” or “I am an island.”

Onomatopoeia: The use of words that sound like what they mean such as “buzz,” “bang,” or “tic-tock.”

Alliteration: The repetition of sounds in a group of words as in “Peter Piper Picked a Peck of Pickled Peppers.”

Imagery/Sensory Language Language and words that appeal to the five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, taste Language and words that appeal to the five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, taste Creates a scene or visual for the reader with words… Creates a scene or visual for the reader with words… Ex: It was a dark and stormy night…the wind was howling, and the rain crashed down by the gallons… Ex: It was a dark and stormy night…the wind was howling, and the rain crashed down by the gallons…

Allusion: A reference to a person, place, or thing--often literary, mythological, or historical. The infinitive of allusion is to allude. e.g. Romeo alludes to the mythological figure Diana in the balcony scene.

Assonance: The repetition of vowel sounds as in “And so, all the night-tide, I lie down by the side Of my darling, my darling, my life and my bride. --Edgar Allan Poe, Annabel Lee

Consonance: The repetition of consonant sounds as in “The fair breeze blew, the white foam flew, The furrow followed free;” --The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

Meter: The pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in the lines of a poem.

Iambic pentameter: Ten-syllable lines in which every other syllable is stressed. - ’ e.g. “With eyes like stars upon the brave night air.”

The overall atmosphere or prevailing emotional feeling of a work.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Mood: The feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. The mood may be suggested by the writer's choice of words, by events in the work, or by the physical setting. Mood: The feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage. The mood may be suggested by the writer's choice of words, by events in the work, or by the physical setting.

Atmosphere: The overall feeling of a work, which is related to tone and mood.

Diction 1)Word choice. 2) The author’s choice of words. An author has the option of choosing any word from our language, why does he/she choose to use certain words and not others? In order to create a certain tone.

Myth: A legend that embodies the beliefs of people and offers some explanation for natural and social phenomena.

Personification: Giving inanimate objects human characteristics. e.g. “The wind howled through the night.”

Simile: Comparing two unlike things using “like” or “as.” e.g. “I’m as hungry as a pig,” or “Your eyes are like stars that brighten my night.”

Symbolism: The use of one thing to represent another. Something that stands for something else. e.g. A dove is a symbol of peace.

Theme: The central idea of a work.

Tone: The author’s attitude toward the subject of the work. Usually positive or negative. e.g. The tone of a piece of literature could be pessimistic, optimistic, angry, or sarcastic.

Voice: The authorial presence in a piece of literature whether in the first, second, or third person.

The repeating of a sound, word, phrase, or more in a given literary work.

“I sprang to the stirrup, and Jarvis, and he; I galloped, Derrick galloped, we galloped all three”