1. Basic Terms & Types of Poems

2.  The art of rhythmical composition, written or spoken, for exciting pleasure by beautiful, imaginative, or elevated thoughts.  Poetry can be defined however you want to define it. There is no limit to what poetry is limited to.  From proverbs to epics, poetry is a work of art.

3.  Alliteration: the repetition of the first letter in a line. Ex. Sally sells seashells by the seashore.  Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds Ex. The bows glided down, and the coast Blackened with birds took a last look At his thrashing hair and whale-blue eye The trodden town rang its cobbles for luck.  Consonance: repetition of consonant sounds Ex. The Lady lounges lazily at the lake.

4.  Couplet: two lines of verse that have the same end rhyme. A couplet is also a two line stanza. Ex. The silver fish swam in the pool of tears, never occurring to her that he did not have ears.  Stanza: group of verses; comparable to a paragraph in prose (prose: text)  Tone: sound quality; expressive of a mood or emotion

5.  Diction: choice of words with regards to correctness, clarity, and effectiveness  Rhyme: the similarity in sound of the ends of words. Ex. Fish, wish, dish  Rhythm: stressed and unstressed syllables; beat, tempo, pace  Internal Rhyme: rhyme that occurs in a line of poetry. Ex. “In mist or cloud, on mast or shroud.”

6.  End Rhyme: words that rhyme at the end of the line; usually denotes rhyme scheme  Onomatopoeia: word that sounds like the sound Ex. CRASH, WHOOSH, ZAP, SIZZLE  Metaphor: a comparison not using like or as. Ex. Your love is a red rose blooming in the spring.  Simile: a comparison using like or as. Ex. Your eyes are like the night sky.

7. Terms cont… Caesura – pause or sudden break in a line of poetry Enjambment – running over of a sentence or thought from one line to another Repetition – repeating of a word, phrase, or an idea for emphasis or for rhythmic effect.