Poetry Terms

Alliteration The repetition of the same or similar sounds at the beginning of words such as tongue twisters like 'She sells seashells by the seashore' Assonance The repetition or a pattern of similar sounds, as in the tongue twister "Moses supposes his toeses are roses.“ Atmosphere The emotional tone (for instance, joy, or horror) in a work, most often established by the setting. The atmosphere is "an air that the characters breathe, a world in which they move."

Poetic Elements Repetition: A sound, word, phrase, or line that is repeated for emphasis and unity Example: Break, break, break, On the cold gray stones, O sea!

Poetic Elements Alliteration: –The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words Example: The scraggy rock spit shielding the towel's blue bay

Poetic Elements Assonance: –The repetition of vowel sounds in words that do not end with the same consonant Example: The waves break fold on jewelled fold

Poetic Elements Consonance: –The repetition of consonant sounds within and at the ends of words Example: And black are the waters that sparked so green

Poetic Elements Rhythm – the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line –Poets use rhythm to emphasize ideas and to create a mood that suits their subject –Rhyme Scheme – regular pattern of rhyme

Blank Verse Poetry that is written in unrhymed iambic pentameter. Blank verse is often unobtrusive and the iambic pentameter form often resembles the rhythms of ordinary speech. Shakespeare wrote most of his plays in blank verse. Free Verse Poetry composed of either rhymed or unrhymed lines that have no set fixed metrical pattern or expectation. Iambic Pentameter Shakespeare's plays were written mostly in iambic pentameter, which is the most common type of meter in English poetry. It is a basic measure of English poetry, five iambic feet in each line.

Imagery Imagery draws the reader into poetic experiences by touching on the images and senses which the reader already knows. Meter Meters are regularized rhythms. An arrangement of language in which the accents occur at apparently equal intervals in time. Each repeated unit of meter is called a foot. Rhyme The occurrence of the same or similar sounds at the end of two or more words.

Rhythm Rhythm is significant in poetry because poetry is so emotionally charged and intense. Rhythm can be measured in terms of heavily stressed to less stressed syllables. Rhythm is measured in feet, units usually consisting of one heavily accented syllable and one or more lightly accented syllable. Stanza Two or more lines of poetry that together form one of the divisions of a poem. The stanzas of a poem are usually of the same length and follow the same pattern of meter and rhyme.

Symbol An object, character, figure, or color that is used to represent an abstract idea or concept. For example, the two roads in Robert Frost’s poem “The Road Not Taken” symbolize the choice between two paths in life. Theme A major idea that the poem illustrates or circle around consistently. Tone The implied attitude of a writer toward the subject and characters of a work, as, for example, Flannery O'Connor's ironic tone in her "Good Country People."

Metaphor A metaphor is a pattern equating two seemingly unlike objects. An examples of a metaphor is 'drowning in debt'. Simile A figure of speech in which two things are compared using the word "like" or "as" to draw attention to similarities about two things that are seemingly dissimilar. Onomatopoeia A figure of speech in which words are used to imitate sounds. Examples of onomatopoeic words can be found in numerous Nursery Rhymes e.g. clippety-clop and cock-a-doodle-do. Personification Personification means giving human traits to nonhuman or abstract things. Figurative Language

Types of Poems Ballad A poem that tells a story similar to a folk tale or legend and often has a repeated refrain. Couplet A couplet has rhyming stanzas each made up of two lines. Shakespearean sonnets usually end in a couplet. Epic A long, serious poem that tells the story of a heroic figure. Two of the most famous epic poems are the Iliad and the Odyssey by Homer and the epic poem of Hiawatha. Haiku A Japanese poem composed of three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables. Haiku reflects on some aspect of nature.

Ballad Example "All of my Love" –Led Zeppelin 'Twas Friday morn when we set sail, And we had not got far from land, When the Captain, he spied a lovely mermaid, With a comb and a glass in her hand. Chorus Oh the ocean waves may roll, And the stormy winds may blow, While we poor sailors go skipping aloft And the land lubbers lay down below, below, below And the land lubbers lay down below. Then up spoke the Captain of our gallant ship, And a jolly old Captain was he; "I have a wife in Salem town, But tonight a widow she will be." Chorus Then up spoke the Cook of our gallant ship, And a greasy old Cook was he; "I care more for my kettles and my pots, Than I do for the roaring of the sea." Chorus Then up spoke the Cabin-boy of our gallant ship, And a dirty little brat was he; "I have friends in Boston town That don't care a ha' penny for me." Chorus Then three times 'round went our gallant ship, And three times 'round went she, And the third time that she went 'round She sank to the bottom of the sea.

Couplet Example "Blessed are you whose worthiness gives scope,/Being had, to triumph; being lacked, to hope." "So, till the judgement that yourself arise,/You live in this, and dwell in lovers' eyes." "Tir'd with all these, from these would I be gone,/Save that, to die, I leave my love alone." "You still shall live, such virtue hath my pen,/Where breath most breathes, even in the mouths of men." "How like Eve's apple doth thy beauty grow,/If thy sweet virtue answer not thy show!"

Haiku Example 1 Green and speckled legs, ( 5 syllables) Hop on logs and lily pads( 7 syllables) Splash in cool water.( 5 syllables) 2 In a pouch I grow, On a southern continent -- Strange creatures I know.

Lyric Poetry A poem, such as a sonnet or an ode, that expresses the thoughts and feelings of the poet. The term lyric is now generally referred to as the words to a song. Soliloquy A dramatic convention by means of which a character, alone onstage, utters his or her thoughts aloud. Sonnet English (or Shakespearean) sonnets are lyric poems that are 14 lines long falling into three coordinate quatrains and a concluding couplet.