Poetry Terms

Alliteration The repetition of the beginning consonant sound in several words.

Allusion When an author refers back to other events, people, or works of literature/art in history.

Analogy Comparing two different things to point out how they are similar.

Apostrophe When a writer speaks directly to an idea, quality, object, or person who is not there.

Assonance The repetition of similar vowel sounds throughout several words, usually followed by different consonant sounds (life/bride)

Conceit An unusual comparison between two very different things, and is usually the subject of an entire poem.

Consonance The repetition of similar consonant sounds throughout several words, often with unmatched vowel sounds (flip/flop) (willy’s tower wowed them)

Dialect A regional variety of language marked by odd grammar and pronunciation (Ya’ll).

Dialogue Speech between two or more characters in a poem; spoken words are often set off by quotations.

Dramatic Poetry Poetry that when read is like watching a dramatic event because more than one character speaks.

Dramatic Irony A contradiction between what a character thinks and what others know to be true.

End Rhyme The most used type of rhyme where rhyming words occur at the end of a line of poetry.

Feminine Rhyme When the last 2 syllables of several words rhyme at the end of several lines: Ex:I once had a little bunn(y), His ears were kind of funn(y).

Figurative Language Speech not meant to be taken literally; it’s used to create vivid pictures.

Free Verse Poetry without regular rhythm or line length that has no rhyme scheme.

Hyperbole A deliberate exaggeration or overstatement not meant to be literal

Imagery Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, making the reader have a sensory experience.

Internal Rhyme Rhyme occurring within a line or lines of poetry. Ex: she could tell by the bell. Ex: at the light of day there was a slight mistake.

Irony A surprising, unusual, or interesting contradiction (an opposite).

Line A horizontal row of words which may form a complete sentence.

Lyrical Poetry Poetry that expresses intense personal feelings through imagery.

Masculine Rhyme words with 1 stressed syllable rhyming at the end of several lines. Ex: Today was the best. I passed the big test.

Metaphor An implied comparison between unlike things without using like or as. Ex: That boy has the manners of a pig.

Meter A regular pattern of stressed & unstressed syllables that sets the rhythm or music of a poem.

Metonymy A figure of speech that substitutes something closely related for what is meant. Ex: The office just buzz the classroom. (The office is understood to be the secretary.)

Musical Devices Sound devices that poets use to make a poem sound a certain way: alliteration, assonance, consonance, onomatopoeia, repetition, refrain

Narrative Poetry A poem that tells a story and has characters, plot, setting, conflict, climax, pt. of view, resolution, etc

Onomatopoeia Using words that imitate or suggest actual sounds. Ex: Boom, whisper, meow

Oxymoron A figure of speech that combines opposite ideas… (icy hot, jumbo shrimp)

Paradox A statement that appears to present opposite ideas, but presents an overall truth.

Personification Giving non-human or inanimate objects human characteristics.

Petrarchan Sonnet An Italian sonnet of 14 lines that is divided into an octave and sestet. The octave asks a question or states a problem, while the sestet answers the question or solves the problem The rhyme scheme is always ABBAABBA for the octave, while the sestet uses some form of CDE CDE.

Poetry An expressive form of writing that is meant to be enjoyed.

Quatrain A stanza containing four lines of poetry.

Repetition When a word, phrase, line, or stanza is repeated at least twice in a poem. Not to be confused with REFRAIN which is a phrase repeated throughout a poem, typically in the last line of each stanza.

Rhyme The repetition of same stressed sounds in two or more words. ex: Sue / blue

Rhyme Scheme The pattern made by words rhyming at the end of each line in a poem.

Rhythm Pattern of sound made by stressed & unstressed syllables in language (each meter type has its own rhythm).

Shakespearean Sonnet An English sonnet, also called an Elizabethan sonnet, whose 14 lines consist of 3 quatrains and a couplet (rhyme scheme: abab cdcd efef gg)

Simile A direct comparison using like or as to compare two unlike things.

Situational Irony When an event occurs that is opposite of what was expected.

Sonnet 14 line lyric poem, usually in iambic pentameter with 1 or 3 typical rhyme schemes: Shakespearian, Petrarchan, Spenserian

Speaker The voice of a poem; it can be the poet’s, a character’s, or an object’s.

Stanza A group of lines in poetry that form a unit, like a paragraph.

Symbol Anything that stands for or represents something else beyond the obvious meaning.

Synecdoche A figure of speech that uses a part of something to stand for the whole. Ex: All hands on deck! (hands are part of a person’s body.)

Tone The speaker’s or narrator’s attitude towards a poem’s subject.

Verbal Irony Using words that suggest the opposite of their actual meaning. Ex: Oh that’s just great that Tim isn’t going!

Verse The form that poetry is written in which includes meter and rhyme.