Poetry Terms and How/When to Use Them
Terms Alliteration - The repetition of initial consonant sounds. Example- Suzy sold sea shells by the sea shore. Terrible truths and lullaby lies. Assonance - The repetition of vowel sounds. Example- Always allow awesome aspirations. Mystery disguised within. Imagery - Words or phrases that appeal to any sense or any combination of senses. Example- Drip of ruby teardrops (aural/sound). To wake up where the green grass grows (visual/sight). Streaming through a velvet sky (tactile/touch). The stench of the underworld (olfactory/smell).
Terms- continued Metaphor - Comparison of unlike things. Often forms of the “to be” verb are used, such as “is” or “was”, to make the comparison (made without using like or as). Example- It’s raining cats and dogs. Meter - Is a recurring pattern of stressed (accented, or long) and unstressed (unaccented, or short) syllables in lines of a set length. Example- Shall I com PARE thee TO a SUM mer’s DAY?
Terms- continued Onomatopoeia - The use of words which imitate sound. Examples- Boo, zonk, phew, bam!!!! Personification - A figure of speech which endows inanimate objects with human traits or abilities. Examples- Tears of amber fall from my soul.
Terms- continued Repetition - the repeating of words, phrases, lines, or stanzas. Examples- Hurry hurry hurry yelled the fans, faster faster faster screamed the players. Rhyme - The similarity of ending sounds existing between two words. Examples- Life for me, is wild and free.
Terms- continued Rhyme scheme - The sequence in which the rhyme occurs. The first end sound is represented as the letter “a”, the second is “b”. Example- ABAB Bid me to weep, and I will weep While I have eyes to see; And having none, and yet I will keep A heart to weep for thee. Example- ABBA I am out for some dinner tonight Waiting for the server to bring our food While chilling with some cool dudes Out side underneath the bright lights
Terms- continued Stanza - a grouping of two or more lines of a poem in terms of length, metrical form, or rhyme scheme. Simile - A comparison between two objects using a specific word or comparison such as “like”, “as”, or “than”. Examples- Notes dance across the page like stars twinkle in the night sky.
Task Create your own examples. Make 2 different examples of each term and add them to your poetry folder. The poetry binder will be marked at the end of the unit. Keep it organized and complete.