1. English 9 REAL SPEAK Definitions
Poetry terms
English 9
REAL SPEAK Definitions

2. How a poem makes the reader feel
mood

3. the different ways the author shows the reader what the characters in a poem are like
characterization

4. direct characterization
when the author straight-forwardly tells the reader what the characters are like
direct characterization

5. indirect characterization
when an author shows the reader about the characters by only giving details surrounding them, expecting the reader to figure out what the characters are like for themselves
indirect characterization

6. when the author mentions a specific person, place, or thing from history, pop culture, or literature and offers no addition information about it because the reader should already be familiar with it
allusion

7. a stanza with exactly 4 lines of poetry
quatrain

8. exactly 2 lines of poetry that rhyme and have the same number of syllables in each them
couplet

9. a line of poetry that is repeated throughout the poem like the chorus of a song
refrain

10. a bunch of specific strategies that add cool sounds to a poem
sound devices

11. the specific choice of words and sentence structures that an author uses that make the writing “good” instead of “bad”
diction

12. words that sound similar in their endings
rhyme

13. the pattern of end rhyme in a poem that is identified by assigning letters of the alphabet to symbolize each end sound
rhyme scheme

14. words whose ending match each other exactly in sound
perfect rhyme

15. words whose endings match each other pretty closely in sound—or at least close enough
imperfect rhyme

16. words that match each other in sound in the way they end that sit at the ends of lines of poetry
end rhyme

17. rhyme that occurs in the middle of a line of poetry
internal rhyme

18. a few words in a row or almost in a row that start with the same sound
alliteration

19. when a consonant letter sound is used a few times throughout a line of poetry and when that sound falls anywhere in the words: beginning, middle, or end—it’s just there over and over again
consonance

20. using the same vowel sounds more than once in a line, not in a rhyme
for example: the blue moon drew my attention
assonance

21. unpleasant, jarring sounds
cacophony

22. actual sounds written out as words
onomatopoeia

23. using a word or phrase more than once in a single place of a poem to emphasize a point or create a rhythm
repetition

24. the universal idea that a poem tells you about life
theme

25. NOT the author, but the character “telling” the poem
speaker

26. the way an author seems to feel about the topic he is writing about;
for example: sarcastic, respectful, serious, hopeful, playful
tone

27. any time an author uses words in a way different from what they literally mean
figurative language

28. painting with words and offering sensory details to the reader
imagery

29. the name of any specific technique that uses language in a non-literal way;
for example: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, idiom
figure of speech

30. when things turn out differently than you thought they would or when the reader knows a fact the character does not know or when someone says something by means the opposite
irony

31. describing something that is not human as if it had the qualities of a human
personification

32. addressing or talking to someone that isn’t there in a poem
apostrophe

33. a ridiculously huge exaggeration
hyperbole

34. putting two words next to each other that are opposite of one another
oxymoron

35. a situation that exists at the same time as another even though it doesn’t seem possible that it could—and yet it does
paradox

36. something that means more than just what it is
symbol

37. a direct comparison using “like” or “as”
simile

38. talking about one thing as if it were actually another totally different thing
metaphor

39. talking about one thing as if it were actually another totally different thing, and using the description of the other thing to explain even more deeply something important about the first thing
extended metaphor

40. the way a poem is set up; the rules a poem follows or doesn’t follow; the way a poem rhymes or doesn’t rhyme; the set length of each line or the lack of set length
form

41. poetic writing instead of just regular writing
verse

42. a poem has this when its lines of poetry have specific, pre-established numbers of syllables and patterns of rhythm in them instead of just random lengths of lines and random patterns of rhythm
meter

43. rhythm the beat of a poem;
sometimes the beat follows specific patterns of stressed and unstressed syllables which classify it as a particular kind of “meter”
rhythm

44. free verse poetry that follows no rules;
all the lines have different lengths, rhyming may or may not happen, no set meter controls the rhythm of the lines
free verse

45. what we call a poem’s paragraph
stanza