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English Poetry Terms

Terms

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Synesthesia
The merging or mixing of two sensory experiences to create an image: "hearing" a "color"
Dramatic Irony
The audience or reader knows more about a character's situation than the character does and knows that the character's understanding is incorrect
Pun
An expression that achieves or emphasizes humor by utilizing two distinctly different meanings for the same word or two similar sounding words
Consonance
Repetition of an interior consonant sound within a short sentence
Juxtaposition
The placement of two dissimilar items, people, thoughts, places, etc., next to one another to emphasize the differences or heighten the similarities
Meter
The emphasized pattern of repeated sounds in poetry; meter is represented by stressed and unstressed syllables
Rhyme Scheme
An alphabetical representation of the way a poem rhymes, constructed by assigning each line a letter
Anthropomorphism
Attributing human qualities, emotions, and behavior to animals
Epitaph
An inscription on a tombstone
Elegy
A formal, stylized poem about the death of a famous person, a close friend; a poem on a very solemn subject
Syntax
The arrangement of words to form sentences
Simile
A comparison between two different things using either like or as
Sonnet
A fourteen line poem written in iambic pentameter and having a standard rhyme scheme
Iambic Pentameter
A line of poetry composed of five feet of iambs; the most common form of English poetry
Alliteration
The repetition of sounds at the beginning of words
Parallelism
The repetition of similarly constructed phrases, clauses, or sentences within a short section
Elision
The exclusion or blending of a syllable
Dialogue
Conversation between two or more characters
Dialect
A particular kind of speech used by members of one specific group because of its geographical location or class
Verse
Another word for "poetry"
Structural Irony
The use of a naive hero, whose incorrect perceptions differ from the reader's correct ones
Theme
The central of dominant idea behind the story; the most important aspect that emerges from how the book treats its subject. Usually expressed indirectly, as an element the reader must figure out. Universal statement about humanity. NOT ALL WORKS OF LITERATURE HAVE THEMES
Paradox
A statement that is self-contradictory on its surface, yet makes a point through the juxtaposition of the ideas and words within the paradox
Climax
The point of greatest dramatic tension or excitement in a story
End Rhyme
Rhyme that occurs at the ends of lines
Half Rhyme
A near-rhyme; one that is approximate, not exact
Point of View
The position or vantage point, determined by the author, from which the story seems to come to the reader. The two most common points of view are first-person and third-person
Lyric Poem
A genre of poetry in which the voice of the poem expresses personal feelings or perspectives
Iamb
The most common foot of poetry in English, made up of two syllables, the first unstressed and the second stressed
Personification
A figure of speech in which an object, abstract idea, or animal is given human characteristics
Irony
A perception of inconsistency, sometimes humorous, in which the significance and understanding of a statement or event is changed by its context
Cliche
A familiar word or phrase that is used so often that it is no longer fresh or meaningful, but trite
Onomatopoeia
A word whose sound imitates its meaning
Synecdoche
Using a part of something to stand for the entire thing
Satire
Using humor to expose something or someone to ridicule
Romanticism
An 18th and 19th century literary movement that is frequently characterized by....a) a depiction of emotion and imagination, b) a depiction of the beauties of nature, c) settings that are in exotic or remote locations (old castles or mansions), d) a hero or heroine who rebels against the social norms of his or her society, e) an intense interest in nature, its beauty, and/or its fierceness, f) an interest in the irrational realms of dreams, folk superstitions, legends, and ghosts, g) language and characters marked by emotional intensity
Assonance
Repetition of an interior vowel sound within a short section
Monologue
An extended speech by one character, either when alone or to others
Sensory Images
The use of details from any, some, or all of the five senses
Denotation
The primary understanding or meaning of a word
Interior Monologue
An author's thoughts, written as if they come from his or her mind directly to the reader's
Setting
When and where the short story, play, or novel takes place
Inference
The act of drawing a conclusion that is not actually stated by the author
Couplet
Two successive rhyming lines of poetry, usually the same length
Rhetoric
the art of eloquent speech or writing, which employs various techniques in order to persuade one's audience
Soliloquy
Lines in a play in which a character reveals thoughts to the audience, but not to the other characters; it is usually longer than an aside and not directed at the audience
Plot
The pattern of events in a literary work; what happens
Foot
A standard of length in poetry, dependent on syllables
Stanza
A grouping of lines in a poem
Metaphor
A comparison of two things that are basically dissimilar in which one is described in terms of the other
Connotation
A meaning of a word that carries a suggested meaning different from the actual definition
Colloquialism
A popular expression or term that may or may not be proper english
Verbal Irony
A discrepancy between what is said and what is really meant; sarcasm
Tone
The atmosphere in a literary work or the attitude the author puts in a literary work
Double Entendre
A type of pun in which a word or phrase has two or more different meanings, one of which is usually sexual
Tercet
A grouping of three consecutive lines of poetry that may or may not rhyme
Internal Rhyme
The rhyming of words within one line of poetry or one sentence of prose
Ballad stanza
A stanza of four lines of poetry with a rhyme scheme of abcb
Catalog Verse
A technique in poetry used to describe people, things, places, or ideas
Trimeter
A line of a poem that contains three metric feet
Allusion
A reference to a person, place, poem, book, event, etc., which is not part of the story that the author expects the reader will recognize
Tetrameter
A verse in a poem consisting of four metric feet
Quatrain
A four-line stanza of poetry that may or may not rhyme
Anaphora
The repetition of a word of group of words within a short section of writing
Motif
A situation, incident, idea, or image that is repeated significantly in a literary work
Hyperbole
Exaggeration for emphasis; overstatement
Imagery
The use of words to evoke impressions and meanings that are more than just the basic, accepted definitions of the words themselves

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